Set Up To Fail
by babesrus2
Summary: A mission gone horribly wrong. Who, What, Why. Will this be the end? A Babe HEA.
1. Chapter 1

**I believed that I had retired from writing, but I guess I was just tired. My muse took off with two suitcases and her passport and after repeated pleading by text and email she finally contacted me. She has arrived safely back home, thank goodness, yes, in time for winter again! Sigh.**

**Thanks once again to Megan for her green pen. Love you, hate the pen! **

**Thanks too to Margaret for her encouragement (cough-nagging). Even she does not know how many times this hit the trash barrel!**

**Once again, JE deserves the credit for these amazing characters. Someday I might dream up my own, but until then...**

**This is written from mostly Rangers' POV.**

Chapter 1

My name is Ricardo Carlos Manoso or Ranger to my friends and enemies alike. I am of Cuban ancestry which I am extremely proud of. I think that I look in damn good shape for a man my age and if we can keep a secret between us I am just a bit vain about my physique. I work hard to maintain this body and hope to for years to come.

I have few vices or weaknesses, but my most pressing one at the present time is a curly haired, brunette ball of energy named Stephanie Plum.

Before I dwell on that too much, back to my dilemma. The late night phone call unnerved me enough that my tortured sleep became cause for restless pacing in my extra large bedroom. Knowing that sleep would not be coming soon, I pulled on some workout gear and headed downstairs. I was hoping that at 2 am the gym would be empty.

Quickly I warmed up and stepped on the treadmill. I set it for ten miles hoping that the monotonous pounding I was going to inflict on this hapless machine would be enough to shut down my brain. Why should I be surprised when the timer rang and I was no closer to a clear and relaxed mind. The gym was still empty so I headed for the martial arts mat in the middle of the floor and commenced a choreographed but difficult series of movements. I knew that someone would be monitoring me up in the control room and that gave me both comfort and anger at the same time.

My body was tired but my mind was still going a million miles a minute. Abandoning the whole idea of continuing my fitness routine, I dragged my tired body back to seven for a long and relaxing shower. I shrugged off and stepped out of my clothes dropping them like breadcrumbs in the forest all the way to the shower. Under normal circumstances I would expend the energy to put them in the laundry hamper, but I just couldn't find the will or desire to do it at the moment. I turned on the water and stepped in reveling in the hard jets of water that pounded on my flesh. Yes, this was the ticket.

Feeling refreshed I turned off the water and stepped out. The bathmat cushioned my feet as I stood dripping. I had the towel in my hand ready to wipe the moisture off my body when my eye spied a blue scrunchie around the toothbrush holder.

I had tried to drive her away but she had wormed her way into my life again.

I commenced drying off, but the electronic bracelet on my right ankle was chaffing from the sweat of working out and the shower I had just finished.

I was a prisoner in my own building.

Shit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for taking a chance on this story. I loved all the positive reviews and PM's. I know, I know, JE owns them all. **

Chapter 2

My phone was blinking with an incoming call as I emerged from the bathroom. I had a towel draped around my waist which I was holding mostly closed by one hand. My hair was down and soft waves were beginning to form. I cursed slightly as I passed by the full length mirror. I liked to wear my hair long, but when I took a shower, my hair would take on all the characteristics of a woman who had spent time with rollers in their hair before a date. Bad asses did not have ringlets!

Picking up the phone, I wondered who was calling me now. Calls in the middle of the night rarely meant good news and so far I was one for one on bad news. With a great deal of trepidation, I opened my phone and pressed the button to access my voice mail message.

"Are you OK?" came the voice of an angel, masquerading as my Babe. She was using the burned phone I had had Tank slip to her. His instruction to her was to use that phone only when calling anyone at Rangeman, me included. The worry in her voice was apparent by the slight tremor.

She was smart, and devious, but at the same time had a cute but extremely curious nature about her too. Many times in her bounty hunting days she had closed a case by her bulldog attitude. Once she got the scent she was like a dog with a bone in her teeth.

My men had on occasion stealthily slipped files to her to search for that hidden clue that had puzzled them knowing that her "spidey sense" was a treasure and very valued. More times than I could ever count, she had "saved the day" with some niggling tidbit of information that allowed us to bring in the next unfortunate skip. Rangeman coffers benefited, and I always made sure that she was fairly compensated.

I was having trouble controlling my emotions listening to those three beautiful words. Stephanie and I had finally both taken our heads out of our asses and acknowledged what it seemed everyone else had come to the conclusion a long time ago. We had been dancing around the issue for so long that we had basically forgotten why we could not be in a relationship with each other and just the thought that we might spend the rest of our lives apart, actually brought us together.

Looking back, it had started so innocently.

~~~Flashback~~~

As my usual pattern, when I needed grounding, I would pick her lock on my way into her apartment late at night and settle myself into the chair in the corner of her bedroom. That night, she had not been her usual self, but instead of sleeping, voicing her little sleepy sounds, she had begun to thrash around a bit. I could tell that she was having a bad dream, but unable to tear myself away, I listened to what she was murmuring in her sleep.

It was very illuminating.

My beautiful Babe was afraid that I would once again be leaving her to head off and try to save the world. She was moaning that something was feeling off about this mission and she was trying not to interfere but at the same time trying to get me to see that there was something lurking out there with my name on it.

Her sounds and cries of fear and foreboding tore at my very soul. In spite of myself, I couldn't leave her to her misery, so toeing off my boots and quietly undoing and dropping my web belt on the chair, I crawled into her bed and cradled her in my arms. I started murmuring Spanish endearments in her ear, trying to calm her from her nightmare.

She stilled her thrashings and nestled into me. She laid her head with all that curly mess of hair on my right shoulder, sighed and I could feel her relax as she wriggled herself against me. Her body seemed to know how to find the exact spot so that she could touch me and yet be comfortable for us both to stay wrapped up without fear of pressure points and the tingly feelings from lying in an unnatural position for any length of time.

Iwrapped my arm around her and pulled her even closer to me while pressing my nose against the back of her head and then moving slightly to find that little spot behind her ear. I could feel myself starting to relax and drifted off to sleep with the intention of leaving before she woke up.

Unfortunately, my inner alarm clock must have been malfunctioning and I woke to her already awake. She had not moved to alert me to her new state of awareness. I must have been more tired than I thought.

She turned around in my arms and looked at me. "When do you have to go?"

I looked at my watch and sighed. "A couple of hours, Babe."

Stephanie stiffened in my arms. Then, drawing on that enormous storehouse of strength, she gently placed her hands on both sides of my face and kissed me softly on the lips.

"If we only have now, we will make it count until the next time I see you," she whispered.

Her hands moved down my face and around my neck. She was taking the lead and was a woman not to be denied any longer. Her kiss was long and passionate. First she slowly worked my t-shirt up my chest and partially imprisoned my arms against her headboard. Normally this would have put me in alarm mode, but I trusted her completely and her feather light kisses as she rolled my shirt higher and higher only made my body more excited. Finally, she released my arms and flung the now useless piece of clothing behind her nonchalantly.

She then looked at my cargoes and slowly unbuckling my belt, began to inch my pants down past my hips, never taking her eyes off of my face. My body was responding to her gentle touches as she bent to start kissing me, nipping and using her tongue as she moved down my body. My cargoes were tossed aside and she looked at me with a hunger that only I could satisfy.

In spite of myself, I was powerless to deny what my body was telling me. This woman was definitely all I could handle.

Eventually, we managed to make it to the shower where she once again took control. All her actions were screaming, "Mine, Mine, Mine."

My phone rang once. I was just putting on my boots and stood up.

Stephanie was standing by the door. She was dressed in just her powder blue robe. I wanted to take her in my arms and hold her forever, but my time was up.

As I walked to the door, she stiffened her spine and looked at me. "Don't get shot, Batman."

I replied. "Don't go crazy, Babe."

We smiled at our not so secret farewell and I walked out the door to an uncertain future.

~~~End Flashback~~~

I contemplated phoning her back, but looking at the bedside clock, decided that she needed her sleep. I would contact her when she let me know she was somewhere safe to talk.

Dropping my towel by the edge of the bed, I climbed into my extra large bed, scooting over to 'my side'. I punched my pillow a few times and nestled my head into its soft confines. It was still not enough.

I reached over and grabbed the pillow beside me. Pulling it to my nose, I could smell the faint scent of Stephanie's perfume. I hugged it to me and smiled as I finally dropped off to sleep, my mind finally starting to relax.

I woke up in a sweat. The sheets were tangled around my legs imprisoning me as I thrashed. I had been re-living my last mission again. The aches and pains of my wounds throbbed in memory of that awful two weeks.

~~~Painful Flashback~~~

My arms were locked behind me and my legs were shackled to a metal ring in the floor. My fellow soldiers were also laying in the room. It looked to be dark out now and the absence of the oppressive heat in the small room that was our prison, was starting to cool us and in some cases, start the shivering all over again.

This mission had been compromised from the very beginning. They were waiting for us at the drop zone as we stepped out of the helicopter. The pilot and his gunners tried to help us but they were in danger of being shot down and had to lift off before we could scramble back in. The surface to air shell went in one side of the open-doored helicopter and out the other side.

We were surrounded and relieved of our weapons, boots and packs. We endured a three day march with no food and little water to sustain us. Our wounded were ordered to keep up or risk the consequences and unfortunately two were not able to withstand the pace. We heard two shots behind us as we plodded along.

They knew who everyone was. They knew our mission and were content to kill us slowly. It seemed as though we were being selected one at a time. They casually picked at random. A scared newbie would be followed by a seasoned vet. No rank was missed. If I could have saved my men I would have sacrificed myself, but it appeared that I was to be the last.

Every few days there was another empty ring in the floor. Talking was forbidden and the punishment was severe if caught.

My hands were numb from being locked behind me for so long. I had scabs and open sores from the shackles. My clothes hung on me from lack of food. I had been hit by rifle butts enough that one eye was swollen shut and I could feel my cracked ribs every time I moved. I tried not to cough too hard. Pleurisy was not an option right now.

The door opened and a crowd of soldiers poured into our cell. We didn't even look as they raced in. It was too dark to make out any identities. We knew in our hearts that we were all going to die and one at a time or all at once was too much to be afraid of right now. They roughly grabbed us, cutting the chains from the floor and carried us out of our room from hell.

I recognized a couple of them from prior missions, but my tongue was so swollen from the heat and lack of water that I could not speak, even to thank them. I was too dehydrated to have tears running down my face.

I was being carried in a fireman's hold and could hear the choppers coming in for a landing.

We were thrown on the floor of the chopper and it lifted off. Then and there, I decided that I needed to go to Mass a few more times to thank God I was still alive.

Before I lost consciousness, I thought once again of my Babe. During my capture I would visualize myself with her at my side. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would be the only one for me and if it was God's will and I made it out alive, I intended to try to convince her to be in my life. I was more than willing to make her mine forever, if she would have me.

Thoughts of her as I lay in that hell hole of a room may have contributed to my desire to fight for my life and try to make it out alive and have her back into my arms.

After checking us over and treating our lacerations, wounds and filling us with antibiotics and food, we were supplied with new uniforms and released from the base hospital. An armed guard escorted us to a transport plane and watched as we buckled ourselves in for the long ride stateside.

Another escort met us upon arrival and we were whisked away to a building on base I had never been to. Let me tell you. I had been on this base many times and I had never even realized that this building existed.

We entered from what looked like a garden shed with an elevator that went down. We were led to separate conference rooms and I never saw my fellow mission mates again.

I was locked into a smallish conference room. There was a table in the corner with bottles of water, cans of pop and a coffee urn complete with cups, spoons and cream and sugar in disposable packets.. There were sandwiches and fruit on a plate. It looked to me like I would be here awhile. No debriefing had ever gone this way.

I knew that there was a pane of one way glass and the table and chair were strategically placed so that every movement I made would be observed.

Having seen this before, the first thing I did was to take the chair and move it around the table to the opposite side. I had observed no cameras pointing the other way. My idea was that they were going to have to order me to return the chair and sit where it had been placed. I didn't think whoever would be coming in would have that authority. I was, after all, a Lieutenant Colonel.

I am a patient man and my Babe had once commented that I would stay still for hours on end without movement. I settled in.

The door opened and to my surprise it was the General. He had briefed me on so many missions and had been the one to offer me the outlandish amounts of money for doing jobs that nobody else wanted to or could do.

My relief was evident on my face as he walked toward me. Unconsciously, I stood up ramrod stiff. He was also without headgear and nodded in my direction. He pointed to the chair and I sat down. My strength was not what it should be and just the few moments of standing at attention had weakened me.

We stared at each other. Finally he spoke. "Colonel, you have no idea how happy I am to see you. We heard how fucked the whole mission was from the get-go from the chopper crew. We put together a team as fast as we could but had trouble finding your location. I am devastated at the loss of life and I assure you that the men who gave their lives will be honored and their families compensated."

I spoke from the heart. "Thank you, General for your help in getting us out. I cannot imagine what happened. I get first crack at the asshole who set us up, sir. I will class it as a freebie."

I was choosing my words carefully. Unfortunately someone had tipped off the enemy.

I had refused to extend my contract for another 20 missions or 5 years. I was getting too old for this shit and I wanted to have a life, and a Someday. I needed my Babe, and Rangeman needed to be run more hands on.

I was watching for any signs of emotion about that. There were only two people who had the details what was going on with the mission. One was my handler and the other was the General. I had trusted them both with my life many times over the years and did not want to believe that it had been either, but the facts spoke for themselves. I was set up.


	3. Chapter 3

**I wanted to hide Ranger at my house but my husband said no! Janet, I guess he is yours.**

Chapter 3

Ranger's POV

I woke up in a sweat. My nightmare had just taken a turn for the worse. I was now adding in alternate endings in an effort to control the situation and bring it to a logical end.

Hector had made the first call last night. He was like a man possessed when it came to ferreting out information through the computer world. He had found an errant link that had been attached to my handlers' incoming messages.

As of this moment, he had put in additional safety procedures with respect to Rangeman. He would contact me again with more information later. I had attempted to caution him to be ever vigilant and I could hear the growl of disgust in his voice. He knew his way around a computer and was almost overly confident that nobody would get the drop on him. I could hear him sharpening his knives as I spoke to him.

Once again, I climbed into workout gear. I needed to keep busy or I would go crazy pacing in my apartment or on five.

I headed downstairs and opened the door to the sounds of my men working out. Grunts of effort using the weights mixed with the sound of feet moving on the custom made martial arts mat. I could see someone hitting the mat and then springing to their feet to continue their sparring.

The treadmills were all in operation with men either warming up, running at full speed, or cooling down. There was the sound of someone working the heavy bag in the corner, and I gravitated to that area. I could tell by the sound that Tank was punishing it by the cadence of the strokes.

I nodded to him and stepped behind the bag, holding it for him to take another hit. Tank was in fine form this morning and his hits were hard and precise. His hands looked like he had been working the bag for some time and the longer I looked at his hands, the harder he hit.

Finally he stepped back and took a shuddering breath. I may have been the one almost killed, and now under house arrest, but he was shouldering all the responsibilities as second in command as I was unable to leave the building for any reason.

I was unable to meet with clients, head out on calls, participate in take-downs or just to hop into my Turbo and take a leisurely drive around town. Worst of all, I was unable to visit Stephanie, calm her fears and wipe away her tears as she faced a future possibly without me.

Unfortunately, the bracelet on my ankle was such a new and improved design that my movements could also be tracked inside the building and a running description was uploading every fifteen seconds.

I had had enough time to reason that to escape, the only way to remove it was with a set of bolt cutters and a fast get away car with the engine running and the garage door open. I had almost arrived at the planning stages.

There was a complete laundry list of rules and requirements to keep my sorry ass out of military prison and I was trying to abide by them.

No weapons on me or within five feet unless on a person other than myself. No outside contact with members of the public other than my immediate family or my lawyer.

No phone calls incoming or outgoing from any member of the armed forces, its affiliates, or contractors.

No leaving the building for any reason unless I was scheduled for another round of interrogation, and then I would be escorted by members of a military security team.

I had to give up my passport, a minor thing really. They suspected but did not know of the other six alias's in Tank's safe.

He had taken the precaution just after my return and had my office and apartment professionally cleaned. Les was not just a pretty face. He knew what needed to be done.

We also had a contingency plan. Les and I looked similar since we were first cousins and with hair extensions, make-up and padded clothes, could pass for me in a pinch. If it looked like I was going to be sentenced to serve in some hell-hole of a secluded prison inside a mountain in Colorado, I would disappear, never to be seen again. Les could keep them busy for a day or so looking for him.

I had always left Rangeman able to hold its own in the event of my death and it would take the government lawyers years to try to close it down.

My buddy, Jason Jamieson was a shark when it came to law. He had written a number of laws that were in effect today. He would save my company and my men.

Unfortunately it was my ass I was wanting him to save the most. The idea of rotting in a prison cell for my remaining days, cut off from all the people I knew and loved was almost too much to absorb. I did have a back up plan if it came to that. I knew that my best friend and confidant would do what needed to be done. I was a mercenary, after all.

Life without my Babe was no life. She had been banned from the building since she was at best, a contract worker in the governments eyes. Well, we could work around that too. She had the phone and she had my men to help as needed.

It was the old switcheroo. She had come into the building disguised as a delivery person and I had waited for her on seven. Our welcoming was at best rapid, but very satisfying. She left with that special grin on her face, and I was calmer for a few hours.

My men decided that we would need a number of deliveries from that supplier for the foreseeable future and I hoped it would last before someone caught on.

Stephanie was not without her own wiles. Mary Lou had dressed up like Stephanie, complete with a wig and she and Lula had driven around for a couple of hours looking for a skip. They had stopped for lunch at Cluck in a Bucket, donuts at Tasty Bakery, and although they ate in the car, it appeared to calm everyone's surveillance nerves enough to pass.

Hector was jamming all unauthorized phone taps and so far the phones I and my Babe had were safe.

Tank had taken the liberty to plant himself at her apartment one day and showed her that her apartment was being bugged. Her first response was to rip them out and flush them but a number of notes later she realized that leaving them there gave the false impression she had no idea of their whereabouts.

That too gave her more stress. Now she had to move around her apartment trying to appear like normal, knowing that every sound, every phone call, and every visitor was being taped. She couldn't hide at Mary Lou's house for long or it would become suspicious. Everything was being marked down and she was even paranoid that she might mumble something in her sleep, so she couldn't even take a trip to Denial Land without guilt.

Steph was smart enough to use her 'other phone' sparingly and only in a place she could observe for any suspicious activity. Unfortunately we could not plan for every eventuality but assigning a comm van to track her every movement had not apparently been budgeted for at the present time.

I knew that the government was in serious trouble. At last count, over 800,000 innocent people were without a job and unable to pay bills and here they were hassling me.

I thought back to all the years serving my country. My safe was jammed with medals presented by Generals, Admirals and even a President.

My body was scarred from the shrapnel and bullets that had entered my body from missions.

My first hand knowledge of how the world was evil under the facade of humanitarian aid was so toxic that I would have trouble spelling it out verbally, let alone having it published on an ebook site.

I was in deep shit and for the life of me, I had no idea how to extricate myself.

~~~o0o~~~

Tank's POV

Downstairs, there was a conference going on in my office behind closed doors. I was sitting behind my massive desk, tapping a pencil on the blotter in thought. Les and Bobby were sitting in the guest chairs.

Les looked at Bobby then myself. Finally not able to stand it any longer, he reached over and took the pencil out of my hand.

I leaned back in my chair. I could feel my face redden and heaved a giant sigh. This was turning out to be a colossal clusterfuck of epic proportions. Not just Ranger's future was in jeopardy, but so was all of Rangeman. It appeared they were scooping him before someone else had a chance to.

Mentally I reviewed the time line. One week ago, Rangeman had been invaded by the Ft. Bragg MP's and a contingent of Army CID's. They were carrying documents authorizing them to apprehend one Ricardo Carlos Manoso.

Poor Zip had been on duty at the front door. He had enough time to hit the panic button by his right knee before he had been roughly dragged out of the chair and unceremoniously dumped onto the floor and cuffed. The camera in the corner was disabled by a bullet to the middle of the lens.

As Rangemen poured out of the stairways and elevators they were also incapacitated and left to wonder what the hell was going on.

Ranger and I came racing down the stairs weapons in hand and were also detained.

Ranger identified himself. He was surrounded immediately and his rights were read to him. He was swiftly disarmed and cuffed. A bulletproof vest was slid over his head like a pullover and a copy of the arrest order was left on the top of the desk. The team moved out, practically dragging Ranger with them in their haste to vacate the building.

As more men poured out into the front reception area and cut off the plastic restraints holding their trussed up compatriots, all eyes turned to me. I was reading the orders and cleared my throat.

"The arrest warrant states that he disobeyed orders and changed the mission. He is presumed to have derailed the mission placing the men in his command at risk. They also charge that he was preparing to sell military knowledge that he possesses that would endanger the brave men and women who serve and possibly put them in harms' way.

As you are aware, he has refused to commit for another contract. Apparently this is not sitting well with our superiors."

The men stood around the reception area looking at one another. Everyone of them had participated in numerous Black Ops assignments or high level clandestine operations.

They all knew the orders to keep it to themselves and most had enough experiences in their relatively short lives to have a very large file somewhere detailing their activities.

These men understood that their word was their bond and they had all been sworn to secrecy. For the life of them, they were unable to fathom how the rules had now changed. Were they next?

I had called Jason Jamieson, the Rangeman lawyer. He had been a Ranger and had served a number of missions with Ranger's team.

He had demanded that he be allowed to represent Ranger as the charges had been read. He was the Rangeman lawyer and had the paperwork forwarded as confirmation.

The charges read. Conduct Unbecoming an Officer, Treason, Espionage, Misappropriation of Military Funds, the list went on and on. It appeared that the U.S. Government was preparing to throw the book at him.

Jason was being well paid (he planned to submit the bill to Ranger later) to be cool, calm and collected.

Were the charges serious enough to be left in custody, or would the judicial process include the possibility of bail with conditions? The court wanted Ranger left in custody because they deemed him a flight risk.

Jason argued that he was now a successful businessman running a large company.

They countered with that he possessed ways and means to disappear without a trace.

Jason argued that he had family in the area.

Jason stood tall and kept countering as each argument was submitted.

Finally, it was agreed that Ranger be released but with an electronic bracelet and confined to the Rangeman building in Trenton.

Ranger immediately agreed and signed.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger's POV

I was rapidly wearing a path back and forth in my office. I had been on the phone to Jason. Once again, the news was not very good. Papers had been presented to a Military Tribunal detailing the damage that someone with my knowledge and experience could do if apprehended by a terrorist faction. I was officially done with the government but it pointed to the fact that in this business one is never really retired.

I could be declared an enemy of the state and locked away never to be seen again to keep all that knowledge I had acquired safe. In the eyes of the government, my loss was their gain.

There was no use in taking this to the press. I had my own moral code and I neither trusted nor agreed with what the media spewed on a regular basis. It would have to remain in-house.

I looked down at the bracelet on my ankle. I wanted to just remove it and take off. I was confident that I could disappear and my friends and employees could delay the investigation long enough to fade into the weeds.

The only problem would be that I would have to leave everything and everyone behind, including Stephanie. She would never be able to travel without constant surveillance. Even if she could get away and meet up with me, she would have to go into hiding, never to return.

I knew how much she loved her wacky family. It would probably literally kill them all. Her Grandma Mazur was still a feisty, sex crazed lady but they had a special relationship. They were very similar in temperament and it was not hard to see what Stephanie might look like and act in fifty or so years. I really hoped I would be around then to see how true it might play out. I shuddered to myself. Then again, I might not!

Jason had cautioned me to hold tight. He was working behind the scenes and was in contact with the General. He was making inquiries at his end.

The General had done his own research and practically vouched for my handler. He came from a very distinguished All American family with no money worries, a steady job, lots of room for advancement, and a generally good outlook on life.

That left an outside influence.

It could be literally anyone at the Pentagon with an ax to grind. I was being set up, but why?

I was a bit smug but I had proven time and time again that I had been the best of the best, the cream of the crop, the piece d' resistance for years and there were probably other handlers with wish lists that included me in their stable.

Money always talks and obviously someone was out to make a killing, even if it was me.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie was very frustrated. How could a good man like Ranger be treated so terribly? What had happened to justice in this country?

Her man, oh that sounded soooo good, was being detained and treated like a criminal. How many times had he risked his life to save innocent women and children in war torn countries? How many people had he been forced to execute for the greater good? How many times did she have to hold him as he woke up crying and moaning from some action that would torture his soul until the day he died, and could never speak to her about it?

Her first stop was her parents' home. Luckily it was lunch time and her dad was home with the cab.

Her mom and grandma were standing at the door. How did they do that?

She got out of her latest POS car. She was unable to use one of the Rangeman vehicles now without drawing attention, and luckily Mooner and Dougie had come through. It was a subdued Civic, surprisingly complete with matching wheels and tires and a dull shade of gray. It was not something that would be noticed as she drove down the street. Stephanie made sure it was properly registered. She did not need TPD on her ass right now.

She walked up the sidewalk and into the house. It smelled like apple pie and lasagna for lunch.

The kitchen table was already set with four place settings. Everyone sat down and commenced passing around the dishes. Talk was minimal until eating was done. Nothing trumped eating in the Plum residence.

Finally, pushing back their chairs from the table, with a coffee poured and prepped, the questions started.

Grandma. "So, where's that Ranger guy with the package? Haven't seen him around town lately."

Mom. "I could invite Joe over for supper if you want. I haven't seen him for awhile. I hear he's broken up with that waitress."

Dad. "What's up Pumpkin? I'm hearing lots of rumors around town."

Stephanie cleared her throat. How much to tell without spilling the beans. She looked at her family.

"Ranger has been accused of some pretty serious offenses. Someone is out to get him and he is almost at the point of disappearing. If that happens, I will never see him again as he will choose to leave and not want to put me in danger."

Stephanie cleared her throat. "I can't tell you everything and I don't know very much, but he was injured and wound up in a military hospital overseas. All I can get out of him is that his last mission blew up in his face and men died. They want to pin the failure on him and are threatening a life sentence in a military jail."

Tears were rolling down her cheeks and her mascara was starting to run. She had her arms wrapped around herself as if in protection mode.

Everyone at the table sat in shocked silence. Ranger had come and gone "in the wind" for years and had returned sometimes with bumps and bruises but he had always returned.

Although he and Stephanie had not made their relationship vocal, it was safe to assume that something had changed. She had mentioned that he was on his last mission and then they would be free to pursue a life with each other.

Frank nodded. He, above the other two understood more what had happened. Obviously, the government in its convoluted mind had made it clear that they were unprepared to just release a very efficient secret weapon. If they couldn't have him, then they would take steps to ensure that nobody else would either.

Frank stood up from the table. He turned to Stephanie, put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

"These things seem to follow you around, don't they? I have a feeling that it will all turn out in the end, Pumpkin."

Frank turned on his heel and headed out the back door. He liked to go to his garage after a good meal, turn on the tv nestled in the corner, sit in his other big, easy chair and drink a nice cool beer as he watched the tube. He loved the big screen tv in his living room but out here he had absolute control over the remote. It was his solitude, and his centre.

Frank rolled his beer around in his hands. He admired the sacrifices that Ranger and his men had put up with to do the job they did. They asked for nothing in return in the way of attention and judging by the way they were treated in Trenton being classed as thugs and killers, it took a strong man to keep calm at the verbal abuse hurled their way on a daily basis.

Frank stood up. He still had a few buddies from his army days.

Military men were a closed mouthed group, but maybe someone might have some information. He looked at his watch and calculated time change. He might catch him before his shift started. Frank walked over to the desk in the corner and pulled off the green protective cover then sat on the rolling stool. He smiled unlocking a side drawer, and withdrew a small cell phone.

Stephanie did not want to head home just yet. She wanted to, no, needed to be near familiar noises. Her mom and grandma were still enjoying their cups of coffee and Stephanie motioned them to stay seated.

She loaded and started the dishwasher and pulled on a pair of rubber gloves. The lasagna pan had sat too long without attention and it would be a bugger to clean. She set to work filling the sink with hot soapy water.

**A/N – since tomorrow is American Thanksgiving and then Black Friday, I will publish on Monday. Have fun everyone.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for the reviews. Hope everyone had a safe and Happy Thanksgiving. Just think, only 23 days until Christmas! So Ranger, where will your stocking be hung up? **

Chapter 4

Ranger's POV

I was slowly going crazy. I had been advised that a team was coming to pick me up for a "meeting".

I dressed with care. No belt, no pants with extra pockets, no jewelery, no hair ties, no contacts, no tie, no tied footwear, and no jacket.

I was authorized to wear dress pants, short sleeved dress shirt, socks and slip on shoes. Funny they had not mentioned if I should or should not wear underwear! I decided to go commando, my usual preference. If whoever was checking me in was female or awkward about my body, they could sit and rotate.

The phone at my bedside rang once. They were downstairs. Well, I was not rushing. They could wait a bloody minute or two. I took one more look at myself in the full length mirror.

Jason had phoned that he was being allowed to attend this meeting and I was looking forward to some time to speak with my friend and lawyer. He would meet me there.

We spoke about the information we wanted to hear. Jason wanted to hear specific charges and their reasoning. He was prepared to cut them off trying to place blame on innuendo or observations.

I wanted to know who had pressed charges against me. I could then ascertain if he or she had a hidden agenda against me, my ideals, my lifestyle or religion.

I looked in the mirror again. Everything looked OK and I was ready to walk out the door.

My eyes slid to the picture in the frame on the credenza in the hallway. It was a picture of Stephanie and myself sitting on a rock wall at Point Pleasant. Our hands were clasped together and she was leaning into me.

The wind had been blowing and some of her hair had slipped out of her ponytail. Her cheeks were red from the cool breeze but she was smiling at something I had whispered in her ear.

A passerby had offered to take our picture and I had handed over my phone immediately.

We had taken a few days off and had disappeared leaving Tank in charge.

I softly brushed my hand over the framed picture. I had something to fight for. My Babe was waiting for me once again.

I took my time heading out the door to the elevator. As if my men knew, the elevator was not waiting for me and I pressed the button to summon it.

That too would piss off the team downstairs. They would hate to wait around.

The new SOP written out by Tank detailed that when the security team was scheduled to arrive, there would be at least three Rangemen in the reception area, stationed at the door to the garage, the door to the stairs and the elevator in addition to the man at the desk. They were all to be fully dressed complete with Kevlar. Take that!

I made my way down to the main floor in the elevator. I stepped out and was immediately surrounded, patted down, cuffed and once again a bulletproof vest was slipped over my head. Well, so much for the time spent combing my hair!

I was whisked out of the building and into a van and it took off. Another van followed.

I was driven to what looked to be a warehouse where the van drove through the shipping door at the back of the building. Once again, I was practically dragged from the van and surrounded as we made our way to the elevator.

I remembered when I was captured in Bolivia and treated much the same way. Unfortunately, my meeting that day had involved a severe beating, resulting in a number of cracked ribs, a broken nose and a few loose teeth. I had been rescued then, but had the feeling that this 'meeting' would end very differently.

The conference room door was open and the lights were on. One man stood in the open doorway and nodded then stepped away.

Jason was waiting for me in the room. He was glaring daggers at the two men assigned to keep the room from being tampered with. I was under no illusions that it was wired and all conversations would be kept on file and played back to ascertain any guilty plea that I might wish to offer.

I was uncuffed and the vest pulled off me. The men moved away and left the room, closing the door softly behind them. I could hear them take positions on the other side of the door.

We were directed to a pair of chairs and a table by the back wall. We took our places and Jason took out a pad and paper from his briefcase and placed it in front of him. I looked at him and then the paper. He nodded back. He understood what I was saying. Nothing was to be spoken between us and everything was to be written down.

I wrote. _"Have you talked to your contact?" _

Jason nodded. _"Very illuminating."_

I wrote again. "_Do we have a case?"_

Jason took his pencil and scribbled quickly. _"We will have a case, but it's going to get messy."_

Just then, the door opened and three men walked in dressed in military uniforms. I remained seated. I outranked them all and would be damned if I showed them that they were the senior influence in that room. I might be held against my will, but my actions and words would be speaking for myself as I stood up to them.

The men placed their briefcases on the table in front of them. They would be facing us but we literally had our backs to the wall and they were seated facing us in the middle of the room. They took their time opening up their shiny, new briefcases and bringing out files, notepaper and pens. It almost looked comical as they strategically placed all their materials in perfect order in front of them.

I wondered if they had ever had to think on the fly. Tidiness was fine, but it could swiftly become anal and the ability to change direction might be beyond their ability, at least that's how it looked right now. I wondered if they were really lawyers. If so, I would hesitate to have them represent anyone I knew.

Jason had also taken note. He looked at me and a very tiny smile peeked out. This might turn out to be fun if it wasn't so serious, but until it was over, he planned to mess with their perfect little world.

The colonel in the middle spoke. "Colonel, Mr. Jamieson. Thank you for meeting with us today."

I snorted mostly to myself. As if I had a choice.

Jason stealthily jabbed me in the ribs. We needed some information so let them posture themselves.

I nodded at them and schooled my face into my patented blank look.

The man obviously in charge cleared his throat. "Well then, may I introduce my colleagues. To my right is Major John Brown, to my left is Captain Harry Wintrop, and I am Lieutenant Colonel Barry Jackson."

I lifted one eyebrow and a tiny smile tugged at one side of my mouth. The three men shifted in their seats. I hid my satisfaction to myself as they squirmed. I was continuing to embellish the stories that a smiling Ranger was a very dangerous Ranger.

Jason cleared his throat. He spoke. "Good morning gentlemen. May I introduce, Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo Carlos Manoso. U.S. Rangers, Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart."

"My name is Jason Hitachi Jamieson, U.S. Rangers, Distinguished Service Cross, Bronze Star, Purple Heart"

Colonel Jackson scowled slightly. He was well aware of their accomplishments. With two very well spoken sentences, the seated gentlemen had already set the bar. He and his colleagues had never served one day in the field, had never led men in battle and had never been outside the relatively safe confines of the United States.

He mentally looked down at his uniform tunic. There were precious few ribbons on his chest, and certainly nothing to do with serving off shore in any capacity.

Drawing on his courtroom training, Colonel Jackson sat straighter in his chair and began to speak. "Gentlemen, we are gathered here to try to ascertain the decisions and the subsequent activities on and after the dates of September 1, 2013."

He held up a number of pages of papers in the air.

"We have signed affidavits from the surviving members of the team lead by Colonel Manoso. They all state that the mission was compromised from the beginning resulting in significant loss of life. It is also noted that while captured, Colonel Manoso did not appear to stand in the way of the activities against the men in his command before, during or after their capture."

Jason cleared his throat. Colonel Jackson looked up in surprise. He didn't like to be interrupted when he had the floor. Beside losing his train of thought for a minute, it was downright rude.

Jason spoke. "When were these affidavits signed by the surviving men? At the de-briefing, in the hospital, in the helicopter, where, Colonel?"

Jason looked at me. "Did you sign any affidavit?"

I looked at the Colonel. "No, I did not sign anything."

Colonel Jackson waved his hand as if to dismiss my remark. He carefully put the sheets down on the desk.

"It must be obvious to everyone in this room that as the commander of this failed mission, it was your responsibility to do everything in your power to get your men home. I am only stating that the surviving members felt you had let them down."

Jason had a hand on my arm as Colonel Jackson spoke. I know he could feel the coiled response growing in me. It was only my absolute level of control that was holding me from leaping over the table and taking down the man who had made the accusations.

I believed that he was unaware of my growing anger. This stupid man had absolutely no idea how powerful and strong I was and if I made the decision that this minuscule excuse for a man needed to stop talking now, no man would probably be able to stop me until I had driven home the message. Probably the CID members on the other side of the door might shorten the lesson, but before I was subdued, I hoped that I would have taken the majority of the group with me.

Barry Jackson continued on blithely unaware of the danger he might be in.

"We also have an accounting of the amount of money that Colonel Manoso demanded to be paid to lead this mission and in the eyes of the government, it speaks to holding our government and all we hold dear as captive to perform what was envisioned to be a simple in and out."

I knew that my eyes had changed as I watched the other officers visibly wince.

Jason spoke again. "Unless you are very unaware of the nature of Black Ops, the budget comes down as set."

Jason was still sitting with his hand on my arm. His outward appearance looked calm but the fact that there might be a hand-sized bruise on my forearm later due to the pressure he was exerting led almost everyone in the room to draw a breath.

Colonel Jackson continued on as if he was still unaware of the emotionally charged atmosphere in the room.

"The government is also questioning the itinerary Colonel Manoso employed using specially requested weaponry, munitions and modes of transport."

Jason spoke again. "Colonel Manoso has worked in that area before and knew the terrain he was dealing with. In his opinion, the equipment requested was not out of line with the mission."

Colonel Jackson rambled on.

"The government is well aware that Colonel Manoso has the reputation of 'getting things done', but are concerned that as he has not chosen to extend his contract for another period of time, that he might be open to accepting offers from other interested parties."

He cleared his throat again and looked at me for the first time since beginning to speak.

"Our government has a very liberal policy with respect to immigrants. We pride ourselves in the military with respect to welcoming all nationalities to wear our uniform provided they earn that right. It must be something about where you Cubans come from that makes you think you can come to my country, and repay our kindness with sinister acts the which I am loathe to even dwell on."

Jason spit out. "Colonel, you are walking a very fine line here. If I wanted to write you up for racial discrimination, I am sure your colleagues would be hard pressed to disagree with me."

Colonel Jackson paused and picked up another set of papers. He pursed his lips in anger.

"I have been ordered to offer you a way out of this unfortunate situation. If Colonel Manoso is willing to sign a new contract for the standard 20 missions or five years, the Government is willing to forgo this investigation and release Colonel Manoso from any and all charges immediately. He would be required to immediately agree to be escorted to the nearest military base until such time as a new mission is scheduled."

Jason took his hand off my arm. He stood up and began to place all the materials in his briefcase, closed the lid and snapped it shut. Looking at the three men in front of him, he spoke.

"I request a copy of all the affidavits from the surviving members of the mission, along with a copy of the 'offer' you so kindly offered Colonel Manoso."

He paused then continued. "Colonel Manoso has tried to honor all the outrageous demands since his arrest. He has submitted to the electronic bracelet, the monitoring, and the extensive house arrest conditions."

He stopped for emphasis. "Colonel Manoso is finished with this 'meeting'.

I will advise him that he is not to respond to any more requests to 'meet' until the official trial is to begin. Until then, gentlemen, you can take your case and dwell on how you want to prosecute this.

Colonel Manoso has served his country with Distinction and I will not allow you to sully his name in this room, or to be forced to sign a contract under duress.

I assume that you are taping this whole conversation and I defy you to broadcast in a court of law the frivolous and damaging remarks the like I have never heard spoken to .

We will see you in court, gentlemen."

With that, he nodded at me and I stood up and followed him to the door. Jason wrenched it open and we walked out surprising the men standing by the door.

They quickly surrounded me, re-cuffed me and once again put a vest over my head and we headed to the elevator. One man pressed the button and we all waited. The door opened and we walked in.

Jason put his foot in the elevator keeping the door from closing completely. The men gripped their weapons a little tighter and closer to their chests.

"I will be contacting the JAG about these charges, Ranger. We will be in touch. Good day, gentlemen."

With that farewell, he took his foot away and the door closed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Did I mention that Janet owns Ranger and his men. Hmmm, does she have a rider on her home insurance? **

Chapter 5

Ranger's POV

Tank was waiting as I was dropped off back at Rangeman. He stood by the elevator as I was uncuffed and the vest pulled off me. The security team left and everyone relaxed. There were too many guns in the main entrance and an itchy trigger finger could have led to disastrous results.

I knew Jason had phoned Tank I was returning and my approximate ETA. This served a number of purposes. Tank could detail the men to be ready at the front entrance. If I didn't return, he could take point with regard to checking on my whereabouts.

I figured that Tank would know there had been trouble at the meeting. Jason would not give any details of the meeting, client confidentiality in effect, but obviously something had happened and he was subtly warning Tank.

I walked to the elevator which was open and motioned for Tank to follow me.

He stepped in and leaned against the side wall. The door closed and seven lit up automatically. I was trying to control my emotions in front of him, but he was looking at me and I knew he was checking for my unconscious indicators of distress.

I surprised him and performed a front kick to the mirrored wall at the back, sending shards of glass flying everywhere. The elevator stopped suddenly from the impact and an alarm sounded.

Tank quickly pulled out his fob and silenced the alarm. He reset the elevator control but at the same time pressed the red stop button keeping the elevator stationary between floors.

He looked at me. I had dropped my blank face and the man staring back at him was trying to control a rage he had probably not seen in quite some time.

Tank waited me out. He had the camera in the elevator on scramble and the audio off.

I was clenching my hands in anger.

I finally looked at Tank.

"I have nightmares of missions gone wrong and men I was responsible for who were lost. I have enough scars for a lifetime and acknowledge that with all the internal damage to my organs my life expectancy will be shorter than most men my age. What happened this morning in that room makes me seriously regret the decisions I made so many years ago. If not for the friends I made, if I could wish it, I might try for a do-over of my life."

I sighed and spoke again.

"I know I screwed up my baseball career with my juvie record, but I could have put it behind me. I could have gone into business with my family and been a CO of an office anywhere in the world."

Tank kept watching me. He showed his stalwart support by continuing to lean against the side wall with his arms crossed over his massive chest.

I could visualize him wondering if there was enough tequila in his apartment to loosen my tongue or if I would even allow myself to recount what had happened.

Tank spoke. "You would have hated yourself, Ranger. You were built for action. Look how you are sitting in an office here. You are like a caged lion. Sorry, man, but it would not have been you. Besides, then you would never have met me!"

I relaxed at Tank's obvious idea of distraction and let out a single guffaw. I attempted to grab Tank in a headlock, which of course failed miserably.

I nodded at the door and Tank reset the elevator to continue its upward journey.

Tank casually mentioned. "I hear there is a delivery of supplies coming. Feeling up to it if we can make it happen?"

I allowed my mouth to tip up in a little smile. Stephanie somehow knew when she needed to be here.

She was bouncy, excitable, prone to fits of giggles, and an uncontrollable tease when need be. She was also caring, compassionate, very intuitive and had a sixth sense when it came to the pulse of Rangeman.

Every employee in the building was so much better off having her in our lives. I was in a much better place having her in my personal life.

I needed and wanted to see her for as long as Tank could arrange it.

Luis was standing waiting for the elevator as it opened on seven. He had a pail, broom and a dustpan ready. He nodded his head and motioned for us to wipe our footwear on the temporary mat as we exited the elevator. He stepped in and pressed the red stop button, already preparing to clean up the mess.

Tank stopped at the door and raised an eyebrow, but followed behind me when I motioned that I wanted him to come in. We had known each other for a very long time, and he knew there are times when I needed my own head space. I appreciated him waiting for an invitation. We get one another and there was no one I trusted as much to both have my six or smack me upside the head when I needed it

Ella was bustling around inside the apartment. She was taking something out of the oven and placed it on the rack in the corner of the counter. She moved easily around the galley kitchen, setting out plates, cutlery, and bottles of water.

Nodding at both Tank and I, she exited the suite closing the door quietly. They could hear her speak to Luis and head for the stairs.

I motioned and Tank sat down. We filled our plates with the delicious smelling cuban stew and took a piece of whole wheat bread. As we had learned the hard way in the Rangers, eat first then talk later.

I pushed my plate away. Tank was mopping up the remaining juice with his bread and put the last bite into his mouth.

I continued to sit at the counter with my elbows resting on the top. I was holding my water bottle in both hands and rolling it back and forth, almost hypnotically.

Finally I began to speak.

I told Tank about the three men, their obsession with the materials in front of them, and the way they squirmed as Jason had introduced the two of us.

I spoke of the affidavits in Lt. Colonel Jackson's hand from the surviving members of the ill-fated mission and his charges as to the amount paid to lead the mission, the materials used and how he had attacked that my family had emigrated from Cuba.

I then mentioned about the offer to cancel all the charges if I would sign a new contract and allow myself to be escorted to a base until needed.

Tank sat and let me talk. I could see him clench a fist under the table. His family had always lived in the deep south but they could track back to when the slave ships had arrived with a member of the family on board.

I looked up. Tank asked in a quiet tone. "Did Jason give you any reason to believe that we can straighten out this mess?"

I allowed a small smile as I looked at the bruise already making its' appearance on my forearm.

"I think that he was motivated and I can't wait to receive his bill at the end of this, but at the mention of families moving here, I'd expect that he now has more of a personal reason to work on this case."

Tank chuckled. Jason's family was of Japanese ancestry. His grandmother and grandfather had lost everything at the beginning of World War II and had spent the entire war in a relocation camp on the west coast.

He had risen above the veiled innuendo and suspicion even so many years later and had joined the Army. His fluency in Japanese, Mandarin, and a smattering of other Asian languages had been invaluable as a Ranger and he had proven himself many times.

He had mustered out to pursue a law degree. He wanted to defend people as much as he had when in the Rangers. He had taken the GI bill and used it for all it was worth and it looked like it was going to be payback time.

We gathered up the dirty dishes and put them in the dishwasher. I headed for the front door with Tank following. There was work to be done and if Stephanie could sneak in we would steal away for awhile.

I knew that Tank would be contacting Jason about a meeting time. I hoped that he would have some information or at least a reason to hope that this mess would be straightened out.

I made a mental note to get Tank to check on the whereabouts of my surviving men from the mission. Something felt off. Hell, when I looked at the whole thing, everything felt off.

Even if I had even thought about re-signing a new contract, they would have to lock me away forever before I would even think of helping Uncle Sam again after this.

~~~o0o~~~

I was in my office. I would work on a proposal, then look at the clock. I checked the cameras. Everything and everyone was acting normally. I looked at another proposal and signed the contract. I looked at the time again. It appeared that Stephanie would not be coming today.

I contemplated heading to seven and climbing into my workout gear. I foresaw a rough session in the gym to relax today.

Just then, my phone rang once. I looked at the garage camera. A large delivery truck was backing into the loading dock spot. Two people jumped out of the truck as the big garage door was closing. Zero was standing on the loading dock. He looked at the camera and nodded.

One of the delivery personnel moved to the elevator. The door opened up and he walked in.

I stood up and headed for the elevator. It dinged and the door opened. I stepped in and the door closed and seven lit up.

I managed to walk out of the elevator and open the apartment door even though I had trouble moving. I was holding hands with Stephanie dressed in work gear, a hat pulled low over her eyes and dirty workboots peeking out from dusty and dingy coveralls.

The apartment door closed behind us.

I held her in my arms. I wanted to hold her forever and never let her go. She smelled like sweat and grease and a mixture of cooking oil, fresh bread and oranges. I was so turned on I could hardly breathe.

We made our way to the bedroom shedding clothes all the way. By the time I lifted her onto the bed, we were both naked. There was no time for gentle foreplay and we took each other aggressively and roughly. Our cries of ecstasy and pleasure were frenzied at best and primal at the worst.

Finally we lay exhausted in each other's arms. There was no time to cuddle together and sleep but we whispered and kissed each other's imaginary boo-boo's. We had a lot of boo-boo's.

Our time was almost up and reluctantly we moved to the shower. Once again we joined as we held each other as though our life depended on that moment being our final time together.

Stephanie re-dressed in her workman's clothes and I climbed into my customary cargoes and t-shirt. We sat together on the edge of the bed pulling on our work boots and smiled as we both stood up at the same time, shaking our pant legs down.

Walking hand in hand, we exited the apartment and called for the elevator.

Stephanie leaned into me and I could smell her intoxicating scent. I didn't want to stop touching her, but had to settle for my hand against the small of her back, rubbing it in small gentle circles. It was calming me as much as to comfort her.

She had let it slip that Rex just could not keep up a conversation and she missed my late night visits.

Stephanie mentioned that her lease was up soon and I asked her to move in with me. She said she wanted to wait until this mess was over.

The elevator stopped on five. I gave a last kiss to Stephanie and prepared to step out. My ankle monitor would indicate heading to the garage and might attract attention. Stephanie looked at me. She reached up and put her hands against my cheeks and gave me a final soft kiss.

She whispered, "I love you Carlos Manoso. We will get through this and we are going to have our Someday."

I grudgingly stepped out still holding her hand until the very last moment. The door closed and the elevator continued down to the basement.

I walked to my office and checked the garage camera. The elevator door opened and Stephanie stepped out. She watched the Rangemen finish unloading the truck. Quickly she gave them all a hug, climbed back into the cab and the truck pulled back out onto the street.

~~~o0o~~~

Once again their angel had left.

The men slowly headed to the stairs. This situation was so bizarre that each one was trying to keep their emotions in check.

They hoped that Ranger would have the ability to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat on this one.


	6. Chapter 6

**I love Ranger, but he said we didn't share the same interests. I guess he's right. I wouldn't share him!**

Chapter 6

Frank was hitting the mother lode. One of his calls had turned up immediate results.

His buddy, Randy Lawrence was a part-time caretaker at the Ft. Benning base. He had been hearing snippets of conversations to do with a mission gone wrong. He was cleaning the floors as a group of men had walked past discussing how this might affect the case and would it be enough. They had turned the corner before he had heard any more. He told Frank he would be keeping his ear to the ground.

His son had served with Colonel Manoso on a number of missions and Randy had heard stories of his legendary escapades over the years. The military is normally closed mouthed about its' heroes but some stories just had to be told.

Randy smiled to himself. Oh to be young again. He looked down at his coveralled body. Under the clothes was a man who had tried to live life to its fullest. He had joined the Army to get away from the farm that he hated to work on even one more day. He had grunted, cursed and sweated with the best of them and counted his lucky stars that he had found the mates he had.

They had endured so much as they trained for the day they could finally stand up and fight for their country. They had passed Basic. To a man, they thought it was difficult. Some went on to airborne, some went into communications, some heavy machinery, some took a more healing route and became medics. A closely knit group of men which included Randy and Frank had gone on to more advanced training, fortunate to eventually wind up in Rangers. If not for the continuing encouragement of their buddies, a good portion of them would have failed. RASP1 was eight weeks of hell on earth. They all agreed. Basic had been a cakewalk compared to Ranger training.

Standing proudly as they were pinned, they believed that they were invincible and could take on the world.

Unfortunately, real life interferes with ideals and a number of friends had not made it to the end of their enlistment. Every five years, the remaining comrades would meet and toast their friends not with them anymore and vow to meet again in five years. Unfortunately their numbers were starting to decrease each reunion. Randy wondered how long before they would be meeting around a restaurant table.

He counted Frank as a buddy above all buddies. He had literally carried Randy back to base on more than one occasion after an eventful night out.

In his younger days, Frank Plum had been a skinny little shit who could wriggle into the smallest places. He had been their tunnel rat when needed and had saved their asses on more than one occasion. He had an abundance of energy and a curious nature that landed him in trouble more than most men should allow, but at the same time he had a spidey sense that had saved them time and again with his 'feelings'.

No man could understand how Frank stayed so small. His Italian genes guaranteed that his love of food came second to almost nothing else. He ate his way through his entire military career but miraculously stayed pencil thin.

Randy knew that Frank had a drawer full of medals. He had contemplated staying in the military as a career but Frank had met someone who had taken his breath away and he wanted to make sure that he would be around to spend the rest of his life with her. He was being fast-tracked to ever larger leadership roles when he unexpectedly resigned.

Randy had been Frank's Best Man at his wedding. He was both Valerie and Stephanie's godfather.

He had visited a few times over the years and noted that Valerie was the perfect little miss who would grow up with tradition in mind. She loved to cook and clean. She loved her dolls and learned to sew. She wore dresses almost every day and came home clean every evening.

Stephanie, on the other hand had been a handful from the day she was born. From her very first cry to adulthood, she had shown the world an attitude that shouted she would not be following the norm and she was very prepared to forge her own path in this world. Stephanie came home at night with twigs in her hair and scraped knees. Her face was almost always dirty and her bumps and bruises were frequent. Her mother had had to institute a 'no blood, no bandaid' rule or they would have gone broke buying bandaids.

How ironic that she and Manoso would meet. He could foresee many sparks between them, but at the same time, they could neither be together with just ordinary people. Oh, if they stayed together, Randy could see a battle of wills, stubbornness, and determination. He could also see that they could be the ying to the yang, the black to the white, the calm to the storm.

It might be interesting to watch. Maybe it was time to pay Frank a visit.

Randy had taken a different path. He had married later in life and unfortunately his marriage had not endured the test of time.

He had a son named Carl, and although he lived with his mother, kept in touch regularly and spent the holidays with his dad until he was 18.

Randy had broached the idea of joining the military before making a final career decision. Carl had toyed with joining the Marines but in the end decided to follow in his father's footsteps and signed up for the Army.

Carl applied and had been selected for Ranger training and was finding it tough. He received a letter from his dad during a particularly low point which he never shared with anyone. His resolve picked up and he wound up as one of the top in his class upon graduation.

Major Manoso had approached him to join his black ops crew and he had served a number of missions before an injury had sidelined him.

Carl was now in university studying engineering specializing in earthquake proof buildings.

Randy wandered the halls, cleaning and listening. He routinely heard snippets of conversations that had to do with everything from material procurement to troop movements. He heard about impending military strikes and budget difficulties. He continued to marvel that the more bars and stars they had, the simple fact that even inside a secure, military building they still forgot to keep confidential conversations behind closed doors.

Just like cabbies, caretakers had ears too.

It was a wonder that so many campaigns had been successful over the years.

Randy phoned Frank on his cell.

He relayed a conversation he had been privy to just the evening before. If a certain Colonel chose not to sign, plans were being drawn up to court-martial him with a severe sentence to be completed at as yet an unnamed destination. If the subject proved to be difficult, he would be terminated.

It appeared that a number of agencies were vying for his services and were lining up their most difficult cases in case he complied.

Frank put down his cell phone and his hand was shaking. He needed to contact Ranger's lawyer immediately.

Frank sat in his easy chair and contemplated his next move. He did not want to add to Stephanie's stress any more than what she was dealing with right now.

Tapping his phone softly against his mouth he thought who he should call and what he should say.

~~~o0o~~~

Jason was a busy man. He had a very successful practice and had a large staff of everyone from paralegals to articling students to partners. He always took the time to defend someone who had served and it usually wound up being pro bono. Right now, he was concentrating on Ranger and his problems.

He was confused at the treatment they had received and his outrage at the remarks made during the 'meeting' had infuriated him so much that he had taken the rest of the day off to visit the gym and then the law library.

Jason was looking for precedent for this case and it seemed to be obscured.

On one hand, they wanted to blame Ranger for everything that had happened and try for culpability. On the other hand, by flashing the contract in front of them, they appeared to be willing to sweep the whole thing under the carpet in return for agreeing to extend his services for another period of time.

Jason could vouch for staying too long. He had lost too many friends who had said, 'one more then I quit'. He placed flowers on their graves or markers every year and vowed that Ranger would not be the next one he was buying flowers for if he could help it.

He had been in contact with the General. General Harry B. Deville was a no-nonsense leader who was at the end of his career. He too had said 'one more' and had offered the offending contract to Ranger.

In all honesty, it was supposed to be a quick in and out to snatch the son of a dictator. The U.S. had been contacted by a source close to each of them with the plea to grab the son and spirit him out of the country before he could be held for ransom.

It had all seemed so cut and dried and even with Ranger's careful planning and attention to detail it had gone so very wrong.

Ranger was not superstitious but the mission called for 12 men to go. That would leave one spot on the chopper for the rescuee, a total of 13.

Something smelled fishy.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie didn't know whether to cry or scream in frustration. She was trying hard to keep up appearances, but it was hard to play the part.

Every morning she woke up and performed her usual routine. She headed to the bonds office with a box of donuts, as much for her as for her friends. She stayed and chatted, then picked up whatever files Connie had allocated for her and prepared to leave. Some days she took Lula, some days she tackled the FTA's alone.

She headed to her parent's home for supper at least once a week to keep up appearances as much as to beg a free meal. She tried not to stay too long and raise suspicions, but it was hard knowing that she had to return to her apartment each evening for appearance sake only.

She missed working at Rangeman and hanging out with the guys. She missed playing practical jokes with Les. She missed Manny calling her 'wifey' and the dirty looks Ranger sent his way. She missed Tank with his no-nonsense attitude but quiet confidence in her. She missed Bobby making sure any scrapes and bruises were looked after and her special Bomber lollipop offered as a reward at the end. She missed Ella. Oh, she missed Ella so very much.

The nights were the worst. She sat in her dingy, little apartment watching mindless tv or a movie to keep the scary thoughts away. She headed for bed at her usual time and crawled in, pulling her covers to her chin. If she really felt scared, she would pull the covers over her head and lay in the fetal position and cry herself to sleep. She was down to one of Ranger's t's which she refused to wash in case the smell was lost. She laid in on 'his' pillow each evening and in the morning found herself gripping it in her hands.

Knowing that the tiny mics were everywhere in the apartment only served to unnerve her even more. She was afraid to speak to anyone in her apartment in case they spilled some gem that potentially could be used against Ranger.

She couldn't tell Rex about her day. He had always been the strong, silent type but right about now she wanted words and actions.

She longed to hear the locks turn and her man creep into her bedroom to sit in 'his' chair. She longed for him to toe off his boots, drop his web belt and crawl in with her to calm her scary dreams and hold her close.

As much as she loved to successfully sneak into Rangeman under cover as a delivery person, the rest of the day was torture when she left. She could see that Ranger was chaffing at all the restrictions and she honestly feared that he might do something drastic.

She had been aware of a loose surveillance and she made sure to hide the other phone. That dingy couch in her living room was finally good for something. On one of Bob's visits to her apartment oh so long ago, he had become bored and had chewed a hole in one of the cushions. As Stephanie had been trying to repair it, she had noted an opening between the arm and the leg of the couch and it was just large enough to hold a small flip phone.

The word on the street was confusing. Nobody knew where Ranger was and business ran as usual at Rangeman. Tank appeared to be in charge, just like normal when Ranger was not around. Unfortunately, the men of Rangeman were more jumpy, curt, and extremely eager to round up skips without any kind of gentle coercing.

All outward appearances looked normal, but there was a strange undercurrent of tension in Trenton. The Burg likes normal and too many strange men were in the neighborhood and tongues were starting to wag.

Edna was picking up bits and pieces from her visits to the Cut 'n Curl. People were asking questions.

The days stretched into weeks and finally a month had passed.

Stephanie took out her special cell and put it into her purse. She grabbed her keys and locking the door, she headed down in the elevator to her vehicle and climbed in. She backed out of her spot by the dumpster and drove away, watching behind her for a tail.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a gray Mazda pull out. She drove here and there, driving by Mary Lou's house then, the bond office. The car stayed with her at a respectable distance. She saw a hole in the traffic and darted into the left lane then quickly left on a stale yellow leaving the car behind sitting at a red light. Quickly, she scooted into the alley and parked behind a wall of dumpsters and watched as the car raced past trying to find her.

Smiling, she re-emerged on the street heading back the way she came. The guys had been giving her pointers on how to evade and she reminded herself to thank them the next time she saw them.

Stephanie headed to Point Pleasant for some down time. She had her i phone plugged into the stereo and heavy metal came booming out of the speakers.

Stephanie pulled into a parking lot. She had been checking to see if she had picked up another tail. She checked every evening for trackers under her car under the cover of darkness. So far, she was OK, but she firmly believed that after her escape this afternoon she could look forward to some kind of increased surveillance. This might be a one shot only deal to get away and she was going to take full advantage of it for as long as she could.

Stephanie opened the car door and stepped out. She could smell the salty air and feel the breeze on her face. She could literally feel herself beginning to relax and the tension in her shoulders began to loosen.

Locking the door behind her she headed for the beach. People were walking hand in hand up and down the beach.

Finding a secluded place to sit, Stephanie pulled out her phone. The number was hard wired in and rang only once before it connected.

"Babe." She melted and her shoulders started to shake.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger's POV

I sensed that whatever I was about to say was going to start a cascade of tears. I stood up from my desk and headed for the door, closing it softly.

I could only make out one word, "Ranger" before more sobbing.

Right then, I was ready to take it all and shove it. My Babe was in pain and I was the cause of it. I longed to fly down to the Turbo, jump in and speed to wherever she was and hold her in my arms.

I gripped my chair arm in frustration.

This morning I had demolished another heavy bag in my eagerness to take it out on something. Tank had stood by and had shaken his head. He needed to ask Luis to order more bags.

I grimaced. If he decided to finally admit it, he also had taken out his aggressions on the heavy bag too. I wondered if we could get a bulk discount the way it was going.

I looked at another framed picture on my desk. This one was Stephanie sitting in her living room. She was eating a piece of pizza and there was tomato sauce on her button nose. I had taken the picture and then had helped to clean it off.

My memory became a bit fuzzy after that but I remembered leaving the apartment with what might be described as a wolf grin.

I started to talk. I spoke of endless things, donuts, favorite movies, Rex, her grandma, Lula and Tank, my grandma, the one and only dog I had as a child.

Stephanie's sniffles started to abate. I could feel her curiosity start to kick in in spite of herself. I had never shared that I had had a dog. It may have been a mutt of questionable parentage, but it had been mine. I had received him for my 8th birthday from my Grandpa Ricardo.

I had cared for that dog with everything I had and had named it Suerte or Lucky in Spanish. Suerte was well trained and we had been inseparable. Unfortunately a gate had been left open and Suerte had escaped. He had dashed out between two parked cars and had been run over. I was heartbroken at the loss of my best friend and had hidden in my room for days.

Finally my father had taken the bull by the horns and had forced me to go for a drive with him. We drove to the top of a hill outside of town and parked. Dad and I stepped out of the car and climbed onto the front bumper to sit on the hood looking out at the view.

My Dad had shared his sadness with me and forced me to realize that Suerte had made a mistake. He had been trained not to leave the yard but something had made him go.

Dad did not try to soften the blow of the loss. He instead asked me to honor Suerte by always trying to do my best and to think before I act.

I had taken that advice to heart in my life. I always tried to look after the little details. It had saved my life a number of times and once again I thanked Suerte.

Maybe it was time to think about getting another dog.

I never burst her bubble that I really did not possess ESP, but I could tell that she had started to drift along a line of thinking.

I spoke. "Do I even want to know what you are thinking about right now, Babe?"

Stephanie sighed in spite of herself. She had a mental picture of Ranger, dressed in Kevlar and armed to the teeth, walking a dog on a leash. He was holding a little bag by two fingers in one hand.

"Probably not. I can't see you with a little dog, but maybe a larger dog. It would have to be very smart and eager to learn. You are a quiet person so it could not bark a lot but something that could run for miles. Maybe something like a Labrador, or a Shepard, or even a Rough Collie."

I could tell she was beginning to feel better. She was talking to me and asking questions about how I was feeling..

Unfortunately it was starting to get dark and I pointed out that she needed to start heading back. I worried about her out alone without any backup.

She spoke. "I miss you Ranger. Everyone I know is trying to help. Dad has some friends who have their ears to the ground and for some reason Mom has been trying to help also. I don't even want to know what Grandma is doing.

I hope that your lawyer is getting a handle on your file and I really want to believe that it will be over soon. I just cannot see you staying cooped up at Rangeman too much longer, but I beg you not to jeopardize your future with a knee-jerk reaction."

I tried to squelch the tightening of my heart. My Babe wanted, no, needed me to stay and fight off this attack. If I took off now, I would be on the run for the rest of my life.

I spoke, trying to calm her fears. "I have a meeting with Jason in a couple of days. He thinks that he has some ideas on what's going on. I promise you now that I will stay and fight this, Babe. I want my Someday with you and the only way I can see it is if the charges are dropped and I have confirmation that all my commitments with the government have been completed. I did nothing wrong and I am being unfairly targeted."

I could sense Stephanie relax over the phone. She made a little sound of contentment when I had promised to stay and fight. I had given her my word and everyone who knew me knew that my word was my bond.


	7. Chapter 7

**I know, I know, JE owns these characters, except Jason and Red. **

Chapter 7

Jason's POV

It was late at night and I was still at work. I had Ranger's file spread all over my desk. I shook my head in confusion. On paper, there appeared to be no reason why these charges had been laid. Unfortunately, there had been compromised missions before and there would be again in the future, but Ranger was always so very careful in his mission planning, taking nothing to chance.

He had handpicked the men, and the route in. He had checked with his contacts and everything should have gone on without a hitch. Unfortunately in Black Ops, rarely did everything go as planned, but the way this had gone sideways so very quickly unfortunately spoke of evil intervention.

I sighed as I gathered up the paper. I carefully put it all in their folders and placed it all in my locked safe.

I was about to call it a night when my personal cell rang. Very, very few people knew this number and I was surprised to see that the number was blocked. I contemplated not answering but my curiosity was raised. I opened the line with a tentative 'hello'. No need to call out a name or give anything away if it was an errant caller or, heaven forbid, a telemarketer.

There was a pause as if the person on the other line was surprised to hear a human voice. I assumed they were waiting for a voice telling them to leave a message. A throat cleared and the person spoke.

"You don't know me. I received your number from a friend who you defended when he landed in some legal difficulties. He knew you in the 75th."

I thought. Did I need to know the connection, or was I willing to listen to the reason for the call and then challenge the voice for a name. I decided to let the man talk.

The gravelly voice spoke again. "As I said, we have a mutual friend from the 75th and right now, I really don't want to speak of names, but I might have some information about what you are working on."

I headed back to my desk, sat down and proceeded to take out a sheet of paper and a pen.

I spoke. "Ok, let's keep it simple here. No names yet, but lets set up an alias. Give me a name that will not give you away but I will know that you were in the 75th."

There was silence on the line, then the voice spoke again. " Call me Black Hawk Down."

My mind instantly drifted back to October 3rd and 4th, 1993. The Battle at Mogadishu. Ranger and I were members of the 2nd Bat Rangers. We fought at Mogadishu. It had been ugly and as a 19 year old Ranger, I was scared shitless. Carlos was barely a year older but his commanding presence along with his right-hand man Tank, helped us through that hell. Our training kicked in and we were successful, but we suffered, oh, we suffered.

There were so many heroes that day. Men died valiantly trying to save their comrades. I remembered a group of Rangers who had been pinned down. We rescued them but their losses were tragic. Two young men survived by pulling the bodies of their comrades over them when they were overrun.

I had met one of them. The name on his combat said Montenegro. He was about my age. I could see he was in shock and called Bobby over to keep an eye on him. He was taken away along with the others and I never saw him again.

I refused to watch the movie, Black Hawk Down when it was released. I had no wish to relive any part of that period of time. I had heard the movie was about 90% theatrics and exaggeration but having been there, I knew that the true events were too traumatic to actually depict on the big screen. One element that was not widely known or released was that of the Quick Reaction Force who attempted the real life rescue.

Fast forward to 2006 and I was at the end of my military career. Why the hell we were sent to Mogadishu again, I will always question the powers that be that signed the order. I was a short timer but Ranger and Tank were there under a personal contract as Delta Force. Unfortunately, this time I was not so lucky and was wounded, quickly airlifted out to the base hospital and then to Germany. My army career was over.

I was finally released from the VA hospital and headed for university. I was going to use my GI bill for all it was worth. I wanted to be a lawyer. I had plans.

Now and then I would hear from Ranger. He sent business my way and at the beginning, a cheque would come in the mail at regular intervals paying for the legal services of any army buddy in legal trouble. I maintained the facade and assured anyone who questioned the lack of a bill that I had been paid by a fund for just that purpose.

When I received an award, or another honorary degree, I would receive a package in the mail with a congratulatory note and a bottle of wine. It was our little joke.

~~~Joke Flashback~~~

We were on a mission. My buddy, Red and I had been sent in as the demo experts as there was a concern that explosives were in a house containing women and children being used as shields. My team kept the area clear as we carefully scouted the building before squirming our way through a hole in the wall into what looked like sleeping quarters. Mats were thrown everywhere as if they had bugged out. I crept along the wall, listening for any sounds that indicated trouble. Ranger and the men continued to wait for the word to enter.

I headed for what I loosely called the kitchen when I stepped on a mat on the floor and fell down a hole. After dusting myself off and assuring everyone that I was unhurt, I looked around. I had fallen into a cold room cellar and wound up in a room full of wine bottles laying in racks along the wall. I had grabbed as many as I could and stuffed them in my pack for celebration later.

When we were sent to the rear for R and R I dragged them out and we celebrated getting out alive once again. We toasted everyone from the President to the wine maker. We didn't have enough to get sloppy drunk, but enough to have a buzz on to remember the day.

~~~Flashback Ends~~~

I blinked quickly. I had a feeling that this guy was serious. He had put in the effort to track down my number and knew that the 75th had been involved in the conflict where that movie was set. I should take the time to listen to him.

I responded. "OK, I'm going to call you BHD. Just so you know, I do not have any recording devices on my phone and nothing is being taped."

There was an audible sigh of relief on the other line.

"I work as a personal bodyguard. I guard the family of a foreign diplomat living in the U.S. He requested an American and I was available. I have been employed by him for the past year. I always thought of him as a good person helping his country but my opinion of him is changing and I believe that there are some ulterior motives on his part.

I am hearing partial conversations that have the name, Manoso in it. I am trying not to be intrusive but it sounds like he was set up from a number of agencies with the motive that to save his ass he re-up for another term. These agencies are lining up impossible jobs for him that all have the sounds of a one way trip."

I was scribbling furiously. This was something we could start with. I spoke again."Did you hear any names, countries, or agencies?"

BHD hesitated. "I hear that someone high up in our military is taking point. He is trying to keep a low profile and from the sounds of it, plans on retiring soon with a lot of money stashed off shore."

I pulled out another sheet of paper and started another list. I was ruling out nobody now. I needed to start looking for someone who was retiring soon. Why would they take the chance? Their career was winding down and obviously they were planning on bowing out graciously at the end. I was wondering how I could get a list.

He spoke again. "When you see or hear from the Colonel, pass on my regards. I didn't serve with him but I would have been honored to if asked."

I was grasping at straws trying for information without being too pushy. "Can you tell me what was your specialty?"

There was a momentary pause. "Demolition."

The conversation was obviously winding down. I already had a brand new folder on my desk with the name BHD on it. I held it in my hand as I thought what else to say.

"You have my cell. If you hear anything else, please feel free to call me. I want to get the Colonel cleared as soon as possible and I appreciate all the help I can get."

There was a grunt on the line and the voice responded. "I think I can speak for everyone when I say that what happened needs to be cleared up. I will check back with you if I find out more. Good luck, sir."

There was a click on the line and I was left listening to the dial tone.

I stood up and opening up my safe, added the folders to the pile. It was late and I wanted to go home.

~~~o0o~~~

Tank woke from his first real sleep in weeks. His phone was ringing by his head. Quickly he grabbed it and flipped it open.

"Yo."

Stephanie was on the line.

"Tank, I am at the bonds office. I came home and found two strange cars in the parking lot and could see someone in the lobby. My living room light was on and I know I didn't leave it on when I left this afternoon. I didn't want to place my family in trouble so I came here. What should I do?"

Tank was already dressed and heading out the door. He was running down the stairs with his keys in his hands and the phone tucked to his ear. He saw Binkie in the stairwell and signed that he needed back up. Binkie was carrying a clipboard and wrote, 'Where'? Tank mouthed 'Bond Office.' Binkie pulled out his phone and raced up the stairs to five.

"Stay there, Baby Girl. I'm on my way. Are you in your car or in the office?"

Stephanie whispered into the phone. "I'm in the bathroom. Tank, I think I can hear someone outside in the office. What should I do, Tank?"

Tank jumped in his SUV and peeled out of Haywood. He was driving as fast as possible, breaking speed laws and running red lights in his haste to get to the office.

"Stay there. Put the chair under the knob and crouch down against the far wall. Do you have your gun with you?"

Stephanie sniffled quietly. "Yes …. its even loaded."

Tank smiled in spite of the situation. He was proud of her that she was now taking responsibility for her safety. The Merry Men had been training her and she was finally understanding that carrying and firing it were two separate issues.

"If they break in, you are shooting in self-defense, Stephanie. Remember that. Your safety trumps being dead."

He was coming down the street. He could see another Rangeman vehicle coming from the other direction. They were getting closer and Tank could see two vans parked on the street. Their lights were shining on the front door of the bonds office. Tank noticed that the side doors were open as if to receive a struggling delivery.

Tank hit his brights just as the other Rangeman vehicle did too. He could see men running back out of the building and jumping into the vans. They backed away from the office and each headed a different direction. Tank screeched to a halt and jumped out. He had his gun in hand and fired at the back of the van trying to hit the tires. The van raced around the corner practically on two wheels and disappeared. He watched as the other Escape raced past chasing the vehicle.

Tank ran to the front door and noticed it was wide open. He carefully crept into the entrance landing, ready to defend himself and slowly reached around the door jamb to turn on the lights. Nobody was in the room and it looked undisturbed.

He called out."Little Girl, its Tank. I am in the main office standing by Connie's desk. You can take the chair away from under the door and come out."

Tank hoped he had given enough hints to Stephanie that she would know it was him. His voice was quite distinctive but it never hurt to be prepared.

Slowly he could hear the scrape of the chair and then the knob turned. Stephanie stepped out. Her hair was disheveled and she looked very pale. He took two large steps her way and grabbed her as her knees buckled. Guiding her to the couch, he sat her down and pushed her head down between her knees.

"Breathe deep and press against my hand, Little One. You are safe now."

Stephanie started to tear up. The stress was certainly starting to affect her. She knew her nose was running and didn't want to look up. Tank seemed to understand and handed her a tissue from the box on Connie's desk.

"I'm taking you to Rangeman. You are going on lock-down and I'm not taking no for an answer on this. They are trying to get to Ranger through you. If they grab you, he might do something stupid like agree to sign to free you. Hiding you takes away their advantage. I will take responsibility for letting you in the building. You are on the books as an employee and employees can come and go. I hope you like Ella's cooking, because you are going to be having it until this mess is cleared up."

Stephanie shakily stood up. She was about to object, but instead just nodded. She was not helping with the investigation anyway. Maybe she could help with searches or something.

Her thoughts turned to Ranger. Hmmm, locked down in the same building as Ranger. Seeing Ranger. Sleeping with Ranger.

Tank watched her facial expressions. He smiled to himself. He had hoped for only a small argument as everyone knew of Stephanie's aversion to being put into a safe house. Dangling Ranger in front of her like a carrot appeared to change everything.

He guided her gently by the elbow and they walked to the door. Tank turned around, and flipped the light switches off then closed the door. Tank phoned Rangeman and had the alarm set by remote. He waited to hear the beep that it had activated.

He shielded her body with his as they moved from the relative safety of the entrance toward his truck sitting under a streetlight. He opened the door, assisted her in and helped with her seat belt.

Tank turned around sensing that the other vehicle was returning. He would check their report back at the office later. He made the motion to follow him and they both drove off back to Rangeman.

The garage door opened and Tank pulled into his normal spot. The other vehicle had stopped parallel to the gate giving them some increased security until the door closed again, then took off. They would arrange for Stephanie's car to be driven to a safe location and Rex needed a change in scenery.

They stepped into the elevator. Tank pulled out his phone, and pushed a button..

"I need Ranger's location". Tank snapped his phone closed without another word. He pressed the override on his key fob and leaned against the wall.

"I know you didn't want this evening to end this way, but it's for the best. We are working hard to get to the bottom of this whole mess but knowing you are safe will make my job much easier."

Stephanie tried to compose herself. She mentally shrieked as she looked at the mirror on the back wall, trying to corral her hair back into some kind of ponytail. There were tear stain marks down her cheeks and her eyes betrayed the fact that all the adrenaline from the past hour was ebbing.

Tank tried to remain nonchalant as he watched her straighten herself up before they reached seven. He noted that the back wall was sporting a brand new mirror.

The elevator door opened and Tank nudged her out into the hallway. She looked at him for reassurance and he nodded his support.

Tank knocked on the apartment door twice and stepped back, standing at parade rest.

Ranger opened the door. He was dressed in lounge pants and he was bare chested. His hair was tousled and he looked like he had been asleep. He looked from Tank to Stephanie and back. His eyebrow raised and he motioned them both into the room.

Tank followed Stephanie into the apartment. He was trying to formulate in as few words as possible what had transpired when he looked up.

Ranger and Stephanie were in each others' embrace.

Tank stepped outside the apartment, closing the door softly behind him and walked to the stairway to go downstairs. He figured if Ranger wanted details he would be asking, but not tonight.

**A/N – Sighs in relief**


	8. Chapter 8

**Just thought I would mention that it is -42 Celsius this morning. On any thermometer that is cold!**

Chapter 8

Randy was working his usual route, cleaning out waste baskets, mopping the floors, dusting, and generally tidying up. He usually worked the weekend shift and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere on those days. He was not surprised to see men in the offices in more casual attire, and he had cleaned around more than one golf bag during his employment there.

He emptied another recycling box into his massive container on wheels. He was heading to the industrial shredder in the basement. There was a time when the baskets were almost empty but all the notes on boards and at the bottom of memos reminding everyone to recycle had obviously started to make a difference and the garbage cans were almost empty now and the recycling bins almost overflowing.

As he waited for the elevator he happened to let his eyes drift down. The door opened and he pushed the wheeled bin into the tiny enclosure. Randy pressed the B button and looked to the wall. The door opened and he pushed the cart out, limping.

He knew where every camera was located in the building. He had spent too many years there to not be at least a little observant of where they were and how far they reached.

He stopped just by a corner. Quickly he picked up the top two pages, stuffed them into an inner pocket and then continued on his way. He had been muttering about a change in the weather to all who would listen and a slower gait might not be questioned.

Randy unlocked the shredder room door, and slowly lifted the container into the bin. He pressed the button then waited for all the paper to be processed.

He turned off the light and left, closing the door behind him. He made his way back to the elevator and waited. Reaching down, he massaged his right knee. The elevator door opened and he walked in.

~~~o0o~~~

Frank received a text on his cell phone. It had a strange message, numbers and letters written down with spaces here and there.

He headed to his garage, opened the door and carefully locked it behind him. He headed for his desk and took out a piece of paper. He looked for his pencil, licked the lead, and proceeded to write down the message. He then settled down to decipher it.

"Meet Carl at our diner 7 pm tonight. Beware of tail."

Something was up and he became worried for his friend. Hopefully he hadn't put him in danger by his actions?

~~~o0o~~~.

Ranger's POV

Morning came and both Stephanie and I stepped into the gym. The men looked, then whooped with joy. They rushed over and fought to give her hugs. She laughed and returned the high fives, hugs and forehead kisses. She rubbed Cal's tattoo for luck.

I stood back with my arms crossed. I could see how popular she was and my men were happy to see her. I tried to look calm but I could feel my eyebrows start to knit. Tank stepped up and bellowed. "Give the Bomber some room. She's in the gym for a reason and we don't want to scare her off."

The men laughed and headed back to their morning routines.

I could almost hear her mental argument as to which piece of equipment seemed the least diabolical at this time of the day. She sighed, quickly warmed up and headed for a treadmill. She set it for a moderate pace then started to jog.

I nodded to Tank to follow me outside the door. As the door swung closed, I held out my hand.

"Thanks. If I knew, I would have gone and then just kept on running."

Tank smiled as we shook. He was well aware that even in my Babe's panic, that was precisely why she hadn't called me. It seems they both knew me pretty well.

We walked back in and began our morning stretches then headed for the mat. Just because I was not out in the field didn't mean I wanted to get soft. I still had an image to maintain. Besides that, Tank had a smug grin on his face, and I felt the need to wipe it off.

~~~o0o~~~

Frank opened the diner door. The bell tinkled gently. Most of the counter stools were occupied by middle aged men. It was middle shift meal time and the warehouse down the street had just disgorged the warehousemen. Some had coffee, some had supper and some off duty men were nursing a beer.

Frank walked to the back where the booths were. He saw a curly topped red headed man sitting in the far corner.

Carl stood up as he saw Frank come closer. He moved from the back of the booth and smiled as he gave Frank a man hug. Frank tried not to be puzzled as he returned the gesture. His godson was usually not a demonstrative man. As they sat down, Carl raised his hand and called the waitress over.

"I'll have another coffee. Frank, I'm told the cinnamon buns are famous here."

Frank nodded at the waitress. He loved his sweets and had only accepted one small slice of cake at home for supper.

They looked at each other.

It had been a number of years since they had visited together. Carl was getting ready to go into the Army. His dad had brought him up so we could go fishing. Guys weekend and all. We only told funny stories of the army, careful not to scare Carl before he left.

They talked about the comradeship they had with men who had gone through the same experiences. They talked about women and joked that as soon as he put on that uniform he would be beating the women off with a stick.

Carl was a tall, and a very handsome red head. He wanted to see the world before he settled down and worked on a career and family, if he could find the right lady.

It had been a good weekend.

Carl pulled out his wallet and showed Frank the newest pictures of his family. He had a three year old boy and a seven month old baby girl. It looked like Mommy and Daddy would be busy. Jenny looked at her husband as she held the baby in her arms and he was holding their son. The photographer had captured a very happy family.

Carl and Frank laughed at a joke. Frank reminded Carl about the time he had tried to play chess as a young child thinking that it was a fancy form of checkers, jumping pieces here and there. They kibitzed and drank their coffee and ate their cinnamon buns. Finally they stood up, shook hands and headed out to their respective cars.

Frank sat behind the wheel and played with the radio. He could feel the envelope that had been slipped into the inside pocket of his jacket.

He had his cell phone in his hand and punched in a number from memory.

"McDonalds on Dewdney in 20 minutes."

Frank hung up and pulled away. He checked carefully for any kind of tail. He was being extra cautious now that his Pumpkin had been almost kidnapped. Part of him wanted the safety of her at Rangeman forever, but the other part knew that she would be chaffing sooner rather than later. It had been the right decision to take her there, but her Dad figured there better be lots of things to keep her busy. She did not handle forced confinement well for long.

Frank pulled up to a Lexus and handed the envelope to an outstretched hand. He pulled away without coming to a complete halt. What was in that envelope could be very damaging for someone. He hoped that his small part would be helpful.

The trial was booked for one week from today.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger's POV

Tank escorted Jason to Conference Room C. He had already cut the cameras and the recordings and they would not be switched back on until after the meeting.

He carefully set his battered briefcase on the massive table and proceeded to unload folder after folder. Some were so full that the contents were in danger of sliding out.

Jason looked at me. His face was calm, the result of training both in the Rangers and courtroom drama. He might be considered young for a lawyer, but his reputation was building as a force to be reckoned with in or out of a courtroom.

I sat in the chair across from him. I wanted to see any facial expressions and body language Jason might care to display.

Jason started. "We have opened up a can of worms here, Ranger. If what I suspect and receive confirmation later today is correct, the Diplomatic Service had better start packing."

I nodded. Diplomats had the run of Capital Hill and were practically invincible to law enforcement. At the first sign of trouble they could disappear like smoke up a chimney back to their country and there was absolutely nothing that could be done.

Jason spoke. He had taken a folder and placed it in front of him.

He looked at me. "I have memos from a source which will remain anonymous. It details how the consequences of you being forced to sign will play out. Your name has been shopped around and the interest in your services is, to say at the very least, impressive. Unfortunately, I looked at it and most, if not all of them appear to be a one way trip."

I shifted in my seat. I was beginning to see where this might be going.

Jason continued. "My contact states that someone high up is directing this. It was mentioned that the person in question is close to retiring and the money is being sent to an off-shore account.

I have obtained a list of short timers or members who have already put in their papers up to six months before discharge. I must say that the level of expertise leaving the military is very concerning and I hope that those following in their footsteps have been training for their new assignments."

I looked at Jason. This was all fine and good, but what did it mean for me? I needed very little time to make plans, if need be, but I needed to get my head straight first if it came to that.

Jason smiled and waved his hand over the mess in front of him.

"Lucky for you, I have my own network and have narrowed down the list considerably. There are a number of possible candidates and I hope to have a name or names soon.

Your friend, the General has been most co-operative, but being the cautious person I am I even checked him out. He appears to be clean, but I will continue to reserve judgment on him until the very last moment."

I sucked in my breath. I didn't want to believe that a man I respected and admired had conspired against me and was willing to sacrifice my life for his personal gain. Sure, he had presented me with enough contracts with a very high level of danger, but had always tried to soften it with a money infusion that almost bordered on insane. What was my life worth these days?

Jason drummed his fingers on the table. It was one of the few nervous habits he had and was trying to control it.

"I received an interesting phone call. He gave me some information that turned out to be extremely valuable on where to begin to search. Before he hung up, he asked me to give you his best wishes. He said that he did not serve directly with you but would have been honored to if you had asked. He said he was a demo man. When this situation is resolved, he may be looking for a job. I have some connections but he said he is working as a personal bodyguard for a Diplomatic family."

I leaned back. I steepled my fingers in front of me and frowned. I had dealt with so many men in my military and Black Ops career.

"Any idea of a time-frame to help me?"

Jason nodded. "I didn't want a real name yet, but he wanted to be called 'Black Hawk Down', or BHD for short.".

I nodded. It would narrow it down. I too thought of the mission oh so very long ago.

The General, who was a Major at the time, had put me in charge of a small group of men. I had been allowed to hand-pick, which was rare, but the Major must have seen something in this brash young officer that spelled hope for an interesting future if he survived.

I had been very selective. Pierre Sherman, a behemoth of a man even at 20, Robert Brown, a newly trained medic, Lester Santos, my mischievous but deadly cousin, and Ramsey Sinclair, a sniper. We had quickly gained a reputation for unorthodox missions but our success rate was starting to attract attention from above. Major Deville was having a hard time keeping the group together as he was getting constant requests to 'lend' one or another of us to another team for an insertion, knowing that he would never see him again. The mission completion date would have been delayed so much that any hope of retrieving his man would have been roadblocked until he gave up in frustration.

I stored this piece of information and would dwell on it later.

I could feel myself blink. This was not the time to take a trip down memory lane. I needed to know what might happen and plan accordingly.

"Any idea how we can fast forward this before the trial? I am not looking forward to airing all my dirty laundry in an attempt to free myself and I am certainly not planning on signing any contract after this. I have a feeling that if it gets to trial they will petition that I remain in custody until completion and short of busting me out of there, I will disappear."

Jason was nodding in agreement. "I'm trying to get all the pieces together to take it upstairs. I have spoken to the JAG, but he is reserving any judgment until he sees concrete information of wrong doing. It might look to you like we are spinning our wheels here, but we are close to identifying the persons involved. Until then, hang in there, revel in the fact that you can still move around freely in your building and let me do my thing."

Jason started to put the folders in his briefcase, signaling that their time together was drawing to an end. He looked up at me as he prepared to leave.

"I mean it. Do not allow yourself to be taken from this building for any reason. Fire, attack, phone call from a family member in trouble, or other emergency. Let Tank handle it. Keep up the surveillance at all the entrances. I don't for a minute believe that they will leave you alone. If they get to you, we might never find you."

I nodded. Tank had already boosted security on the building and had additional cameras and alarms installed on everything from the front door to the roof hatch. It almost felt like we were digging in for a long invasion.

I stood up and walked around to the door. Jason was standing by the open door and he stopped me with a hand up.

"Don't even walk me to the front door. Stay on five. Don't go lower than three. We don't want to have to justify why the monitor shows you appearing to be bugging out."

I was working in my office. I couldn't get out of my mind what Jason had mentioned about this BHD guy.

I wanted, no, needed to know who BHD was. I mentally reviewed all the demo men I had known over my career. He said he had not served with me, so that ruled out any one in my teams.

Tank and I had interviewed and observed a number of them trying for the best fit for our team.

He had to be close to Jason's age so that ruled out, say the last ten years. So many men, so many choices, so few selected.

I called Tank. He walked into the office and sat down. He looked tired even though it was still early in the day. I promised myself that he should book some off-line time when this was over. I grimaced to myself. I hoped that when this was over, I would be around to grant off-line requests.

"Tank, Jason mentioned that he received a call from someone who says he knew him in the 75th. He said that he never served with me, but would have been honored to if asked. He said he was a demo man. We saw a lot of people when we were looking for a new man. It would be around the time when we took on Jason. Can you remember if anyone stood out?"

Tank looked thoughtful. He had a very good memory when it came to men and their abilities. He checked with the NCO's and took note of their recommendations. He also took notes of the troublemakers to stay away from.

I could see Tank running possible candidates through his mind. We found men that had really stood out but after an interview, we had weeded out a number of them because of ideals or prejudice, or lack of initiative.

We were undecided on a combat engineer, an electronics man or another sniper. We scouted the training bases making our selections. We looked at and cut as many as we added to the list to interview.

Tank sat up. "Remember that young kid we saw early in 2003? He had a double M name. I remember his last name hardly fit on his combat shirt. We looked at him a couple of times then dismissed him."

I thought back. We had been actively searching. We knew that we were coming up on a tough mission and were looking for the right person to add.

We had added someone to the short list. His name was Miguel Montenegro and his specialty was demo. After careful consideration I rejected him.

~~~Flashback~~

Miguel had never known that he was being considered for the position. Tank and I had attended a training session and watched Miguel in action. He had a cavalier attitude to life which was just a bit on the adolescent side and we figured he needed a bit of seasoning before we approached him again.

I remembered that Miquel had lived on a ranch in southern New Mexico and had bragged that he convinced a fellow soldier on leave at his parents' ranch that he would be a hero if he could milk a bull. I had heard rumors that the unlucky victim had spent time in the hospital for the injuries gained by the bulls' horns hitting him dead centre as he tried to escape.

I had lost track of Miquel and he had been assigned to another team, performing up and over ability with his knowledge and skill. He too had been in Mogadishu during that fucked up mission. I had regretted a number of times passing him over but I had picked up a young soldier by the name of Jason Jamieson, a very outspoken young man. We had taken our time and molded Jason into an excellent demo expert and had kept him on our team until Les, Bobby, Tank and I had left the military.

~~~End Flashback~~~

It seemed rather ironic that Jason was trying to save my ass now.

~~~o0o~~~

Frank received a phone call. It was his buddy in Washington. He was sending a package by express. He hoped that it might help the cause.

A/N – I will post again on Monday. Have a good weekend, everyone.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you for all the reviews. For those who comment as Guest or won't accept PM's, thank you for taking the time to leave a note. **

Chapter 9

Ranger's POV

I was dressing. My Class A Blues were laying on the bed ready to be put on. I had showered alone and my hair was neatly trimmed. My freshly polished dress shoes were sitting on the mat by the door.

Stephanie came into the bedroom. She was dressed in her Rangeman uniform and she was not looking very happy. Both Tank and I had absolutely forbidden her to attend the first day of the trial. We had enough to worry about without trying to keep her safe too. Even Jason had cautioned that she not attend.

She watched as I started to dress. I was wearing boxer briefs today and was sitting on the edge of the bed putting on my regulation black dress socks. Next I put one leg into my trousers, then the other and stood up zipping and buttoning and belting. Next came the stiffly ironed shirt. Stephanie was holding my jacket as I finished tying the regulation tie. I reached out to take the jacket from her but she opened it up and I turned around allowing her to slide it up my arms and over my shoulders. I buttoned it up and strode over to the mirror, glancing to confirm everything looked properly lined up.

I wondered if I would ever wear this uniform again after this was over. New directives stated that Class A Blues were being phased out and Class A Greens were being issued. It would be the end of an era. I reasoned that if this didn't work out, I figured I didn't need to worry about wearing one color over another.

My service cap was in Stephanie's hand as she stood by the front door.

I wanted to take her in my arms but she stepped back. Her eyes and posture screamed that if I touched her she would lose what little control over her emotions she was hiding.

I opened my mouth to say something, but she beat me to it. "Don't Ranger. Please don't."

I could see the effort she was putting in to stay in control and I would honor her wishes.

We walked to the elevator waiting for us and the door closed. The elevator traveled down smoothly to the basement.

Tank, Les and Bobby were also dressed in their uniforms. They were an imposing group and wanted to make a statement.

Tank moved to the driver's seat of the Expedition and an Escape was standing by full of Rangemen. They would be providing an escort to the courthouse. Jason would be meeting us there.

Stephanie watched as I prepared to climb into the passenger seat. She put her hand on my arm to stop me and I looked at her.

"Don't get shot, Batman," she whispered. My mouth twitched. "Don't go crazy, Babe."

Tank started the SUV and followed closely by the Escape, drove out of the garage.

Tank was driving toward the courthouse where the trial was to begin. It was late afternoon. The after work rush hour was starting and Tank growled at the delay. He checked his watch. Jason had told us to be at the courthouse no later than 1700.

"How did Jason manage to get the venue changed to here instead of the base? I totally agree with the change but someone must have pulled some serious strings to put a military trial in a civilian courthouse."

I responded . "I have no idea why, but I am certainly glad he managed it. Jason was almost giddy on the phone when he called me. I suspect that he called in a lot of favors, and I cannot imagine what he promised. I suspect that he will be advising me soon what his bill is going to cost me. I just hope that I can personally hand him the cheque from somewhere other than a jail cell."

Nobody could respond with an answer to that. I had even resorted to levity to diffuse the situation, and the tension in the vehicle only tightened. I knew what everyone was saying by their silence. If Ranger was making a joke, it was pretty serious.

Jason was waiting as the Rangeman vehicles drove up. He opened the door and I stepped out. Zip was standing by the driver's door as Tank emerged. He hopped into the vehicle and drove away followed by the escort vehicle.

Jason looked at me. "Try to stay as calm as you can, Ranger. I believe that any emotion on your part will be construed as trying to deflect guilt. Let me do all the talking, and I do mean all, Ranger."

I nodded. This was his playground and I was the one without the ball.

Jason looked at my friends. "I have a section reserved for you. I also need absolute control on your parts. Utilize your blank faces, gentlemen. It's going to get interesting in there and they will stoop as low as they can to get a reaction."

Bobby, Les and Tank nodded. They walked into the courthouse behind Jason and myself. We all removed our caps or berets at the same time.

Military uniforms were everywhere and it was a struggle to gain any headway to the courtroom assigned.

Finally we arrived at the courtroom door and opened it.

Inside was almost filled to capacity with military men and women in full uniforms. There was a roped off section where Jason motioned Tank, Bobby and Les to take seats. They nodded at the others seated .

The posturing began. Jason and I were seated at a table to the left and a team of lawyers in uniform took their places at the table to the right.

The back door opened and three officers walked out. Everyone in the room stood up. The Tribunal sat at the table reserved for them and placed their briefcases on the table in front.

The officers nodded and the court bailiff spoke. "Please be seated."

There was silence in the room. A pin drop could have been heard.

Suddenly the courtroom door smashed open and the sound of rapid fire gunshots was heard. There were screams and groans. Tank, Les and Bobby had jumped the small railing separating them from Jason and myself. They were covering us with their own bodies and stayed there until the firing stopped.

There was mass confusion as soldiers with guns appeared at the door. EMT's began rushing in to attend to the wounded. Orders were being shouted and chairs pushed back to give room to work on the injured.

Order was slowly taking over from chaos. Gurneys had arrived and the wounded taken away. Armed guards now stood at all the exits.

"Tank let me up." I commanded. I could hear Tank growl his disapproval.

I could hear Jason ordering Bobby to get off him. We finally extricated ourselves from under the men after convincing them it was safe. There had been no more gunfire for a few minutes and I needed Tank to get off me. Jason had a bump on his forehead from hitting the floor as Bobby and Les dropped him in their haste to dodge the bullets and protect him.

I looked down and frowned as I looked a bit rumpled. Tank is a large muscular man and he had covered me with his body. While I didn't feel particularly winded, I could feel a bruise here and there blossoming.

The Military Tribunal were meeting in a corner. They nodded in agreement and returned to their seats motioning the occupants of both the defense and prosecution to take theirs.

The officer in charge, Brigadier General James Murphy, cleared his throat.

"This court recommends a postponement. Until this threat has been properly investigated, Lt. Colonel Ricardo Carlos Manoso will be placed into protective custody for his own safety. He is to be escorted to the nearest base until such time as this trial resumes."

Jason was on his feet. "My client and I wish to disagree, Sir. He has agreed to all the security requirements your office ordered to remain out of custody and is well protected at his residence. As you can see, at the first sign of trouble his personal bodyguards protected him and myself from harm. Lt. Colonel Manoso continues to wear the electronic bracelet and his movement is tracked on a continual basis. Until this threat is investigated and contained, I respectfully request that the original order stands until such time as this court is in session again and therefore disagree with the court's recommendation."

The Tribunal looked at each other. Grudgingly they nodded their heads.

General Murphy picked up his gavel.

"Colonel Manoso's original security arrangement stands. Court adjourned."

The chairs scraped as the three officers stood up. Everyone in the courtroom also stood. Tank was on his phone. He looked at Bobby and Les. They waited for the courtroom to empty before stepping to the gate.

We were waiting for Tank's nod. Jason had his briefcase in his hand and as we walked toward the swing gate separating the spectators from the court participants a number of Rangeman stepped into the room. We were surrounded by our friends and, as we walked out the door, another contingent of Rangemen met us.

They pushed their way through the crowd to the outside door and down the stairs. Both Rangeman vehicles were at the front steps and the doors were open and the engines running. Other Rangeman vehicles provided a security fence around the two vehicles. Men stationed themselves around the two SUV's and watched carefully as we were almost pushed into the vehicles. Jason found himself sitting between Les and Bobby in the back seat of one vehicle and Tank drove with Ram beside him in the other. I sat in the middle of the back seat between Zip and Zero.

The trip was made without incident back to Rangeman and as Tank and Binkie drove in, once again the escort vehicles parked across the driveway giving more protection before the garage door could close.

It was a quiet ride up the elevator to five. I walked into the conference room and Stephanie was waiting. She launched herself into my arms making no attempt to hide her emotions as she locked her arms around my neck and kissed me over and over.

I had my arms around her, rubbing her back to comfort her.

"I'm OK, Babe. I'm OK. Tank knocked me down and protected me. Bobby and Les covered Jason."

I continued to rub her back until she began to relax. The men stood quietly taking in the scene, unwilling to acknowledge how badly this could have turned out.

I gently disengaged her fingers from around my neck, setting her down on the floor gently.

"I'm sorry, Babe, but I need you to go back to your desk. We have to discuss this and I will come and get you when we are finished."

Stephanie slowly nodded then backed away. She walked out the door of the conference room closing it softly behind her.

I sighed. I would rather have taken my own trip to Denial Land with my Babe by my side, but I needed to know our next move.

We all took chairs. Caps and berets were placed on the table and Jason already had his briefcase in front of him.

I looked at Jason. "Well played, my friend." Jason nodded at the compliment but his face was troubled.

"That was too close, Ranger. We have to get to the bottom of this and soon. After this stunt, I suspect that there will be a motion to move this to the base and if we get to that point, all bets are off."

Jason reached for his briefcase. "I have work to do. Remember, do not leave the building for ANY reason. I don't care if you get warning of an incoming missile. Do not go lower than the third floor. It is absolutely imperative that we give them no ammunition to rescind keeping your sorry ass out of jail. I will be in touch."

He attempted to get up, frowned as he looked down and growled. "Son of a bitch!"

We all stopped in confusion. Jason was looking at his right foot.

Bobby moved toward Jason. He moved a few chairs away and bent down to look at the damage. He gently lifted the pant leg up, took a look and shook his head.

Jason's prosthesis had taken a hit by a stray bullet. One rod was broken and his foot was slightly twisted off to the side.

"Do you have a spare in your closet? I think this one's toast."

Jason looked sadly at his ruined leg. "I just had this one fitted. My friend, your bill has just received another hit. I'm looking at 10 bills, and I do charge extra for aggravation."

He stood up and shook hands all around before carefully walking out the door.

I sat down in a chair and motioned for Tank to join me. Bobby and Les walked out of the room closing the door.

I had unbuttoned my jacket and shrugged out of it, folding it neatly and placing it on the table beside me. Unconsciously I rubbed my hand down the length, secretly acknowledging how proud I felt every time I put it on. The military had been my life, my teacher, and my family but it appeared to me right now, my enemy.

Someone was out to get their hooks in me.

~~~o0o~~~

Jason tiredly put his briefcase on top of his desk back at the office. He almost flopped into his chair but at the last possible moment caught himself. Outward emotion as a lawyer was a telltale sign of weakness.

He picked up his phone and dialed his personal secretary. Alice was slightly over middle aged. Her salt and pepper hair was never messy or out of place. Her clothing was considered conservative or business appropriate but her footwear would never be considered sensible.

Jason had enticed her away from a senior partner as he was contemplating retirement and had never regretted it for one minute. It was almost as if she had a photographic memory and when paperwork was needed to back up a statement it was produced with almost scary efficiency.

Alice tapped on the door and walked in with a tray containing chamomile tea and two miniature chocolate chip muffins. She liked to believe that after a stressful day in court he needed the calming effects of the tea and the comforting effects of home made muffins.

She placed the tray on the right side of his desk and walked back out closing the door softly behind her. If she felt surprise at the sight of the damaged leg laying on the top of Jason's desk, she hid it well.

She had stayed late and had already cancelled her evening plans. Nobody would be getting past her until he let her know he was ready to face the world again.

She had heard snippets of what has transpired and how close it had come to being declared a disaster. She was not the motherly type, which her birds would confirm if they could speak, but she had developed a soft place in her heart for her young but ambitious employer.

Jason sipped his tea and nibbled on a muffin. Unconsciously he rubbed his right knee. It was aching today after the excitement of the courtroom drama. He would need to check the stump later for any abrasions. He leaned back with his mug in his hand. He noticed that it was a mug he had not seen before. It was green colored and when he turned it around, the saying read, 'Rangers Lead the Way'.

Jason chuckled. Alice needed a raise!

He put the tea down and opened up his briefcase. He pulled out the file folders and began to sort them around the top of the desk. The stickers stared at him almost daring him to open up each file to read and re-read them again trying to glean something he had missed.

The cell-phone vibrated in his pocket.

Jason looked at it. Hmm, blocked. Once again, he pressed the talk button and said, 'hello'.

He heard the gravelly voice come on the line.

"This is BHD."

Jason cleared his throat. He needed some information.

"The fact you called so soon means that you already know what happened. I need more information to bring this to the proper justice it deserves."

There was silence on the line, then some shuffling of papers.

"I have a copy of a memo to Rodney Whitfield. It says, and I quote, "time line moved up. Needs to be handled ASAP by whatever means. Payment withheld until objective complete. There is no signature block but there is an initial, 'B'.

Jason had pushed his tea and empty plate to the side of the desk and was writing on a notepad. He thought quickly.

"Can you get a copy of that memo to me without endangering yourself?"

He could hear voices in the background and knew their time was short.

"I have your fax. I may need to bug out soon."

Jason was quick to reply. "Just say when and where. I have the means."

There was a dial tone in his ear and Jason slowly put down the phone. He rang Alice. She materialized at his door instantly.

"Thank you for the tea and muffins. They were delicious. You always put in just the right amount of chips. It appears I need another appointment, "as his eyes drifted to the leg still laying on the desk.

She nodded and left the room carrying the leg under one arm and the tray in her hand.

She wondered where his crutches were hiding. The last time she had seen them, he had stashed them in the back of the coat closet. That had been only a month ago. He had fallen while extreme mountain bike riding. He was hard on legs.

Jason cleared his throat as she was closing the door.

"There may be a fax coming through shortly. Eyes only to me, please." Alice nodded as she softly closed the door. She would not leave her office until said note came. She sensed a heightened drama in the office.


	10. Chapter 10

**There is some violence in this chapter. If you are uncomfortable please skip this chapter.**

Chapter 10

Ranger's POV

I was sleeping with Stephanie tucked in beside me and I was having the most wonderful dream with us laying on a beach somewhere warm. I woke up with my hand lightly cupping her breast. We had not had much sleep last night but I could feel my loins stir once more and tried to nudge her awake. My morning wood was very apparent but unfortunately Stephanie was not responding to my gentle kisses. We had both tumbled into sleep only a few short hours ago.

An alarm sounded in the building. I pushed Stephanie away from me and jumped out of bed climbing into my cargoes with my shirt in my hand. I grabbed the ringing phone by my bedside and barked, 'Report'.

Junior was asking someone to take the phone and I could hear Tank shouting orders in the background.

Tank took the phone and spoke.

"Ranger, stay on seven. We have a report of intruders in the garage. We have eyes on them, but just in case it is a distraction, I want you far away. Go to your safe room. I have put the elevator on lock-down."

Just then, Tank swore. "We are under siege from two fronts now. I say again, stay inside. We are being attacked from the roof. A helicopter just let out five men. Shit. They blew the roof door. I think they are heading your way."

Tank hung up on me. By now, Stephanie was awake. She had never been nor never would be a morning person and waking up so abruptly, she was standing by the bed, confused by all the activity.

I took her by the arm and firmly guided her to the bathroom where I locked the door behind us. I wrapped the robe hanging on a hook behind the door around her and tied the cord. I looked at her. She was standing in the middle of the bathroom and looked at me in confusion.

I spoke in a controlled but angry voice.

"Someone is attempting to take matters into their own hands. We need to stay in this room, Babe. It was built to withstand attack."

I needed to spell it out very clearly.

"What I need you to do, Babe, is grab the gun that is hiding under the pile of towels on the top drawer of the linen closet. I cannot have fingerprints on any weapon but you are cleared to carry. We do not want to miss any small detail that will jeopardize my freedom in any way.

Tank will be handling the deployment of men and we will just sit and stay comfortable in here until he knocks on the door and personally advises me that it is safe to leave."

Stephanie was nodding her head. She had already retrieved the gun and it was in one of the pockets of her robe. Her hand stayed gripped on the handle and she sat down on one of the stools by the shower.

I tried to engage her in conversation but Stephanie was not up to discussing anything other than who would be so stupid as to attempt such a hair-brained scheme.

"Why would they even think that they could get into this building, Ranger? Any idiot can see that it would be well defended."

She looked so cute sitting there in my robe with her hair all disheveled and her hand gripped tightly around my gun. God help me, but I wanted to take her then and there. I know. I am a sick man.

"Jason is making someone nervous. He has the word out and he is getting back some information that lends itself to some doubt of my guilt, Babe.

Whoever might be heading up this plan did not take into consideration the resources that would be used to defend. Someone did not plan this very well the what-ifs that always happen in a mission.

If I had to guess, whoever is behind this has been sitting behind a desk way too long."

Finally I gave up trying to distract her with words. I was sitting on the stool beside her but I was getting anxious. In my opinion, it was taking too long to diffuse the problem.

I was holding her hand in mine, rubbing the top of her hand with my thumb trying to keep her calm. I kept an eye on her other hand, firmly clenched in the pocket of my robe. I loved her dearly, but the idea of her protecting me was a bit sobering.

After what seemed a lifetime, there were footsteps outside the door, and two knocks followed by a moment of silence, then one more knock on the door. Stephanie had taken the gun out of the pocket of her robe and was pointing it at the door.

Tank spoke. "Ranger and Little Girl. It is safe to come out now."

I looked at Stephanie. She was still pointing the gun and even the distinctive voice of Tank failed to register nor allow her to put the weapon down. I gently lowered the gun, being careful to have my hand over hers at all times.

She finally looked at me and nodded. Her hand relaxed and she put the gun back in the pocket of the robe.

I unlocked the door but kept Stephanie shielded with my body.

I watched as Tank moved into view then reached back and guided her out the door. Tank was wearing a vest and had a long rifle in his hand. He was on his phone and was ordering that the alarms be turned off.

Finally he spoke. "We wounded one, captured another and disposed of three. Unfortunately some got away. We are checking the cameras. Binkie took a bullet in his shoulder and Cal has a simple in and out in his right thigh. Bobby has them both in the infirmary checking them over. When it's safe we will transport them to the hospital, but Bobby assures me that they do not need immediate medical care.

We have both the intruders in the holding cells and will be talking to them shortly."

I guided Stephanie to the closet. "Get dressed Babe and meet us downstairs on five. The elevator is still on lock-down so you will have to use the stairs. Please put the gun back where you found it. I really need you on monitors for a bit until we can get everything calmed down. If you are unwilling to wear your Sig, at least wear a Taser."

I looked at Tank. "Department heads in 10 in the conference room. It looks like the timetable has changed and someone is getting ready to ramp up."

Tank nodded and put the phone to his ear, advising whoever was on monitors to call the appropriate men to the conference room.

We left the apartment, locking the door and making sure it was secure for Babe to stay alone.

Tank stopped me before we stepped into the stairwell. I noticed a few bullet holes in the sheetrock outside my door. There looked like drops of blood on the carpet.

"They used C4 on both the roof door and the garage. We have them on camera. This looks military all the way."

He stopped then added. "They were almost at your door before we stopped them, Ranger."

I nodded. They wanted me so badly they were pulling out all the stops. It was imperative that we get to the bottom of this and soon.

My men and building were in danger. Stephanie and I were in danger. Once again, I vowed that to save Stephanie's life I was willing to sacrifice my own. I did not verbalize it; I assumed that Tank knew.

We took the stairs after Tank confirmed by phone that the stairwell was clear using the cameras in position.

We walked out on five and everyone was on high alert. They were all fully dressed in vests and long rifles slung over their shoulders.

Hector stood in the corner of the room. He was sharpening his already lethal knives and placing them in sheaths on various parts of his body. He had a holster on his hip and his Sig was in plain view. His face was anything but calm and his mouth was set in a hard line. He had let Tank know that although he was proficient in long rifle, he would prefer not to carry one. It interfered with throwing his knives.

Tank had grudgingly agreed.

Les was standing behind the monitoring station and was issuing orders about continued surveillance. He looked back at me and shrugged. It now appeared that whoever wanted me had changed tactics.

Les wanted to interview the men locked downstairs but would wait for permission. He smiled an evil grin. He had been trained by the best of the best and Uncle Sam would not be the only one to benefit from that training.

An uneasy calm had settled in the building.

Extra surveillance and drummed in training exercises had reduced what could have been a bloody and possibly fatal end for the men of Rangeman. Each man silently promised that there would be nothing left to chance. Essentially they were under attack and needed to keep vigilant at all times.

I walked into the conference room. The seats were filled with men from each department, including the Core Team. There was a stormy silence and the air was charged in tension.

Tank took command of the meeting. Barking 'report', he listened as each department reported any injuries, actions and observations.

Bobby reported that both Binkie and Cal were resting comfortably in their apartments and had refused offer of the hospital suite. Bobby reported that the wounded assailant had been attended to and was in stable enough condition to be interviewed.

Woody reported that the damaged cameras were being replaced and Hector was on it boosting video surveillance around the building.

Tank raised an eyebrow. Normally Hector should be attending this meeting.

Woody shrugged his shoulders. Hector marched to a different beat and if someone wanted to take it up with him, well...

Zip held up three sets of dog tags. It was silent as he read off the names. Walter Wilkinson, Evan Smith, and Jerry Padlowski. Bobby asked if anybody in the room knew these men.

Manny stood up. He had three sheets of paper in his hand. "Walter Wilkinson, DOB 19 Dec 89, Evan Smith, DOB 22 Mar 90, and Jerry Padlowski, DOB 7 Feb 90. Former members of the 82nd. Dishonorably Discharged, August 2013 for everything from misappropriation of military equipment to aggravated assault. Served 18 months. Released 31 August 2013."

I stood up. The already quiet room grew even more silent.

"Men, it is imperative that we keep vigilant. Until the situation is resolved, we may experience more attacks. Every patrol now double teams. No vehicle is to travel alone. Cameras and mics on in the vehicles. Do not hesitate to call in anything suspicious.

Elevators will be locked down and stairwells will be manned at the garage and main floor reception area. Sensors on the roof have been re-calibrated. Safety first, gentlemen."

I sat down.

Tank stood up. "The schedule is posted. Four hours on, four off. All leaves canceled. No visitors inside the building. Badges to be worn at all times. Vests and sidearms mandatory for all employees except Ranger, including housekeeping and maintenance. No outside deliveries to be accepted for anything without permission from Core Team. Any questions?"

There were none so Tank barked, "Dismissed".

Chairs scraped and there was a rush for the door. It would be a busy time and all in attendance had to brief their departments on the new procedures.

I waited with Tank, Bobby and Les. The door closed behind the last man and we looked at each other.

Tank spoke. "Les can question first. You can play Good Cop, because by God, I want to play Bad Cop in there."

Les tried to mask his pout. He wanted to play Bad Cop, but the look on Tanks' face dictated that he get the honor today.

Tank spoke. "I want names, times, and details. This shit going down only confirms the fact that we are closing in on breaking this wide open. Jason is pushing bush back in his office. He has been advised of our situation and is prepared to defend as needed."

The Core Team left the conference room. Tank and I headed for the control room and Les and Bobby headed for the basement.

~~~o0o~~~

Bobby made a detour to his office for his bag. He would meet Les downstairs and check periodically during the 'interview' for injuries. As strong as Tank was, Les was by far the more dangerous. Tank just plain hit hard, but Les made sure his hits were strategic in nature. A bruised kidney hurt, but a little lower and it met at an even more tender spot. Same with a rib. Ribs hurt, but catch them at the base and there was a whole new brand of hurt. A split lip loosened teeth, but a half inch under the ear broke your jaw and required reconstructive surgery. Knee injuries were always fun to inflict, especially when the detainee was cuffed and shackled to a chair. Recovering from ACL and MCL injuries took a long time to heal and rarely did the joint return to a completely functional state.

Hal was standing guard by the cells. They could already hear the moans of pain coming from the first room. Hal smiled. Les was working him over pretty good from the sound of it. He opened the little screened window of the cell door across the hall. The wounded man inside was now able to hear every moan and every grunt.

Finally Les came out. His hands had a bruised and bloody look and Bobby nodded that he would check on them in a minute. He headed into the room to check out the situation.

The man was moaning softly as he slumped in the chair. There was a strong smell of urine in the room and Bobby stepped carefully around the puddle. He had his stethoscope around his neck and quickly checked for a heartbeat. He was wearing gloves and grabbing a handful of hair pulled the man's head back and checked his pupils with a flashlight. There was blood dripping down the side of his mouth and he was breathing through his mouth.

Bobby stepped out. His job was done. Tank could ask the questions now.

He walked over to where Les was leaning against the wall. He lifted up one of his hands and checked for damage to the knuckles. Bobby took out some antiseptic from his bag and swabbed gently. Les grimaced but submitted to the ministrations in silence. Bobby had some bandages in his hand but Les waved him off. He had one more room to visit.

Les waited as Hal unlocked door number two. He walked in with a smile on his face. This time he did not need to use his fists. This guy had been wounded and a little pressure here and there might make the difference between talking and not talking flow faster. He looked back and nodded at Hal to start the tape.

Tank worked his way downstairs. He was already cracking his knuckles with anticipation. He rarely got to play Bad Cop but today seemed like the perfect time to play the part.

Hal let him in the cell and Tank sighed. Les had really worked him over. He walked to the chair and stood there with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Henderson, you piece of shit. I busted your ass how many times when you were pretending to be a Ranger. You disgraced the uniform then and you are disgracing all that we worked for to protect now."

Tank moved so fast that he never saw the fist as it smashed into his nose. Blood flew everywhere coating both the fronts of the shirts of both men. Tank stood back.

"Now talk".

Henderson spit out a loose tooth. He tried to sneer, but the effort to open his mouth properly proved a bit difficult. He tried to glare at Tank but one eye was already swollen shut and the other was turning black.

Damien Henderson had been a bully as he grew up. He thought of himself as a tough guy but at the same time he was out to prove himself worthy for his place in society as a for hire mercenary. Money talked and he loved money. No job was too small or too squeamish to accept. He liked to brag that he was open to any and all offers regardless of the situation.

He contemplated staying silent. Unfortunately being taken prisoner had not entered into his plan and instead of being the hero, it was rapidly becoming a nightmare especially considering the pissed off monster in front of him.

He had not taken into consideration the manpower and firepower in the building. He figured his hours might be numbered and he thanked the gods that he had already been paid up front. At least he had spent the money the way he wanted to, partying and gambling with nary a care in the world. His motto, live for today.

"Hen der son," Tank's voice had taken on an edge. His fist was ready to strike.

Damien grimaced. "We were paid to capture Manoso's bitch and extract by any means possible. She's nothing to write home about and I cannot for the life of me figure out what he sees in her. She must put out pretty good to stay around.

I took this job because I wanted to repay Manoso back from Operation Red Bull."

This time he saw the fist heading his way. He coughed up some blood.

"Go to Hell".

Tank looked at the broken man in front of him. "You first."

He knocked on the door. Hal opened it and Bobby stepped in. He came out a minute later and shook his head.

~~~o0o~~~

Les stepped into the other room. He rubbed his hands in glee. Tank told him he was Good Cop today, so he would obey that order. Fortunately there were many ways to play the role and Les was a star pupil during that training.

Les had taken advantage of his wounds and appeared to take great pleasure in ripping off the bandages that Bobby had applied and sticking a finger in the bullet holes. He made sure to mention that he had been the first to 'interview' the prisoner across the hall and looked forward to a round of 'chatting' with the unfortunate detainee. He watched with glee as the wounded man had become even more pale. Les had then accidentally leaned on one of the bullet wounds as he pressed the bandage back on and secured the tape drawing a moan.

Les then took a knife out of a sheath at his ankle and stropped it slowly and carefully, stopping and checking it for sharpness. He then sharpened it some more. The man's eyes never left the knife, almost mesmerized by the monotonous motion. Les didn't look at the man, and he never spoke.

Suddenly, Les had let the knife fly, missing his ear by less than an inch. He walked closer, and taking it from the pillow where it had impaled itself, he spoke.

"I don't have a lot of time. My friend wants to chat too. I can hear him next door. It appears that he is just warming up in there and the night is young. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

Les was able to glean some information quickly before Bobby came in. Just for good measure, he had had Tank walk in and stand by the door. The sheer terror on the face of the man seeing Tank standing at the door with his arms crossed over that massive chest was enough to spill whatever additional information he had been holding back.

~~~o0o~~~

Tank walked out with a smirk on his face. Not for one minute did he think that Les was finished. By the time he was done, the poor fucker laying on the bed would have confessed to all his misdeeds from childhood on, just for shits and giggles.

He waited for Les in the hallway.

Les came out and leaned against the other wall. He had more blood on his hands but a smile creased his lips.

"I got a name, how did you do?"

Tank grunted.

"Get a clean up crew in here. Patch up the wounded one again and keep him alive, if at all possible. I need to talk to Ranger."

~~~o0o~~~

Hector received a beep on his phone. He headed for his office.


	11. Chapter 11

**Janet Evanovich owns these characters and I am only borrowing them for a short time. Mind you, if they want to stay and play longer...**

**A/N – hangs head in shame. I had a lot of grief with this chapter. It is not flowing like I want it to but I cannot make it work to my satisfaction. **

Chapter 11

Jason looked at the sheet sitting on the desk in front of him. One name and only one name was circled. He had checked and re-checked his sources. He shook his head sadly. What a way to end a career.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger's POV

I sat in the conference room. My face was blank, but my hands were clenched in tight fists.

Tank remained impassive on the other side of the table. He had related his findings to me what Henderson had divulged.

First, that there would be an attempt to kidnap Stephanie from inside MY building. Second, the name "Red Bull" made me seethe in anger.

~~~Flashback~~~

"Operation Red Bull" had been a disaster from the very beginning. The leadership, in it's wisdom had assigned a young officer to lead the insertion. I had been ordered to tag along for observation and advice, and if needed act as a safety net if he got over his head It became apparent early on that this mission was gearing itself up for disaster. The men he chose were totally unprepared to take on a mission such as the one we had been assigned. The men he had chosen were friends, and none of them had the knowledge to take on a project such as the one we had been handed.

Unfortunately, as was the case most of the time, the information was lacking in some major details and the team had been forced to improvise. Jeremy Rogan had been unprepared to change directions on the fly to bring about a successful completion of the mission. I could tell that he would always be a by-the-book kind of leader, and being mentally rigid is dangerous in our line of work. Rather than lose most, if not the entire group of men, I had been forced to intercede and take over. I phrased it in a way that we would be joint commanders and I had tried to explain this reasoning to Jeremy, but he had adopted the wrong attitude and spouted that I was a glory hound and couldn't stand by and watch someone younger succeed.

My report upon our return guaranteed that Jeremy Rogan would never again be trusted to lead anyone in any way or be part of a mission and his career as a Ranger commander was over, even before it really started.

He had resigned and had dropped off the face of the earth.

~~~End Flashback~~~

Tank placed the sheet of paper in front of me. Jeremy Rogan had grown up with Damien Henderson and had attended school together right from Kindergarten through to high school graduation.

There had been reports of childhood mishaps that both boys were involved in, but there were a few disturbing reports of crimes that they had been linked to but never proven. Both boys had signed up for the Army after graduation but their paths had taken a different direction.

Jeremy fancied himself a leader so tried the officer route. Damien had always liked the feel of rifles in his grasp and growing up near his grandfather's farm took every opportunity to shoot things. He had excelled in weapons training in Basic and had been earmarked for sniper training. His attitude could use some adjustment, but the Army was good at adjusting attitudes.

This was all fine and dandy, but the problem remained how to extricate myself from the charges and begin to live the life I was hoping to start with my Babe?

I could feel the bracelet weighing heavily on my ankle bone. I was more than ready to have it removed but at what cost? I was losing patience that there would be a successful end to this dilemma but at the same time I was constantly reminding myself what I had promised Stephanie that I would stick around while my friends, co-workers and others behind the scenes were working to have my name cleared.

~~~o0o~~~

Les could talk your ear off if you let him, but with this situation so dangerous, he didn't mince words.

"He was paid by electronic transfer to his account. He's another wannabe, Ranger. Flunked out the first week. Mustered out and tried to convince people he was a trained mercenary. Small potatoes and acceptable collateral damage for the mission. Told where to be and when. Interesting though. He mentioned a 'B' was in charge."

I stood up. This was all fine and good but I wanted to check in with Jason again. I sensed the time was getting shorter to figure it all out.

If they came with another warrant, nobody would be able to find me, I was sure of that. I sensed a bullet in the back as I 'tried to escape' in my future.

~~~o0o~~~

Frank called Tank. He was noticing some strange cars outside his house. He checked with Val and she was sure she was followed to the school when she dropped off Angie and Mary Alice. Val had cautioned the girls that only she or Albert would be picking up the girls after school. They were to stay in the school and Mommy or Daddy would come in to get them.

Tank immediately dispatched a vehicle to stay in front of the Plum house. He also asked Val for permission to allow a Rangeman in the girls classrooms. Rangeman had a standing agreement with the schools in Trenton about providing bodyguard services on children.

Tank was running out of men. He had placed a call to the New York and Boston XO's. They could get a contingent to Trenton the fastest, and should be pulling in any minute.

Tank looked at the apartment arrangements. Everything was full. It was time to institute hot racking.

Tank phoned Bobby. He was just returning with both Cal and Binkie from the hospital. They were confined to bed rest for a week, then light duty.

Tank asked him to come to his office. Bobby knocked on the door and waited for permission to enter. He was wearing his portable first aid kit on his back. He found it easier while they were on alert and it saved time and energy.

Tank motioned him to sit down. Bobby sunk into the chair and sighed. He was as tired as everyone else. Four on, four off was hard on a body. No time to really relax and clear your mind. Everyone would be glad when the extra men arrive and the restrictions were lifted, but they were hoping for positive results first.

Tank handed him a bottle of water which he drank greedily. Finally, Bobby sat up and stated. "What's up?"

Tank flipped him a copy of the employee roster.

"I need to assign bodyguards for MA and Angie. Frank said that Val thought she was being followed this morning and I have received permission to have someone in their rooms at school. I just know that whoever goes in will be under the microscope from every student around. Who do you think would be best?"

Bobby took a quick look at the manifest. He quickly ruled out a number of men. Too gruff, too tall, too old. They needed someone who could be in a classroom with young adolescents.

Bobby pointed at two names. Ric from Boston and Tony from New York. They were both late 20's, but they had arrived with spiked hair the color of their favorite teams. The race to the pennant was on but jeez!

Ric had red spiked hair and a shaved emblem of a B on one side.

Tony was a bit more conservative but he had NY Yankees blue and gray streaked hair and a small team tattoo behind his left ear.

Tank called them to the office.

Bobby left to get a few hours of sleep.

Ric and Tony stepped into Tanks' office. He grimaced at their appearance. He would be having a chat with the XO's later. Quickly he explained their jobs. He hoped they would be up for the challenge.

Instead, the men both smiled. They had trained in child bodyguarding and had had some experience. They left for the school.

Tank phoned the school and gave them the details and a description of the men. He then phoned Val and advised her of the new security arrangements.

~~~o0o~~~

Connie gave Tank a call. She was suspicious. Vinnie Plum Bonds had received the FTA papers on a couple of losers and looking at their background, she was sure that she had heard about them before. She was checking with her Family.

Tank pondered the phone call. He dispatched Woody and Zero to pick up the files. He would delegate Stephanie the job of sleuthing their whereabouts to send men in for the capture. The fact that Connie was already suspicious made him a little more careful.

It had been quiet for a few hours. Now that they knew that Stephanie too was a target it was time to think outside the box.

They had tried everything else. Were they now attempting to get in the building using a Rangeman vehicle?

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie was working at her desk. Her phone rang and without looking picked it up and answered.

She put down her pen and leaned back. "Aunt Isabelle, how are you?"

Standing up she walked to the monitoring station and motioned for Manny to start recording the call. He nodded and started to press buttons. He looked at her and gave her a thumbs up. She continued to Ranger's office and walked in, closing the door.

Ranger was not used to people walking in without knocking but he could see that Stephanie was on her phone talking.

He stopped working and leaned back.

"Aunt Isabelle, thank you for calling me. I want to let you know that I have my phone monitored and your conversation was put on tape. I hope you don't mind, but the seriousness of this situation dictates that we get to the bottom of it as soon as possible. Please thank Uncle Wayne for the information. I need you to be safe.

No, the wedding is not planned yet. I will let you know when and where.

Yes, I would be honored if you designed a wedding quilt for us. I have always appreciated the time you spent making them and I am sorry my first wedding ended so soon that you did not have time to make me one then. His favorite color is black, but whatever you choose would be lovely.

No Aunt Isabelle, I am not pregnant.

No, we haven't discussed about how many children we want.

Yes, he is taller than I am and I will be sure to wear high heels under my dress.

No, Aunt Isabelle. I will not be wearing white. I haven't thought about how many attendants we will have.

Yes, Daddy will probably walk me down the aisle.

Val is fine. Yes, she is expecting another girl. No, I don't believe there is anything wrong with Albert.

Aunt Isabelle. You know Grandma. She is enjoying life and will probably outlive us all.

Thank you for calling me Aunt Isabelle. We hope to visit soon. Say hi to Donny, Lainey and Mickey.

Yes, I will tell Mom I talked to you. Yes, hugs and kisses to you too. Bye."

Stephanie sighed as she closed her phone. She came around the desk and sat in Ranger's lap, leaning her head back against his shoulder.

He was trying not to laugh, but the absurdity of her family never failed to amuse him.

He looked at her left hand. It was bare on the ring finger. Did she know that he had a ring sitting in his safe waiting for the right moment? Would there ever be a right moment? Did she even want that in their relationship?

He mentally shook his head. One issue at a time.

She looked at him as she lay nestled in his arms. "Sure you don't want to bug out, Ranger? Last chance to escape my family's craziness."

He smiled.

Manny knocked on the door and walked in with a disk in his hand. He smirked a bit and walked out, closing the door softly behind him. It appeared that not only was Stephanie's immediate family wacky, but so was her extended family. Life was never boring around the Bomber.

Ranger slid the disk into his laptop. A squeaky voice could be heard.

"Stephanie, dear. Uncle Wayne asked me to phone you. I am reading what he wants you to know. I will burn the sheet afterwards. Oh, my. This is just like a spy novel."

You could hear the paper rustle. She began. "Stephanie, please pass on this information. Uncle Wayne works at Ft. Benning, as you know. He works in Special Projects. This is background information so that your people know how the material was obtained. He has seen the copy of the warrant for your friend, Lt. Colonel Manoso. They plan to serve it late tomorrow and he will be taken to a secret unknown location. It appears that Lt. Colonel Manoso will attempt to escape and he is to be stopped at all costs. The order is signed by Major General Matthew Bennett, former Commanding Officer of the 75th Rangers, now Commanding officer of Fort Benning, Georgia."

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger's POV

I sat in shock. Was this the 'B' we were looking for? General Bennett had personally presented me with my Bronze Star. He had been in charge for five years and was preparing to retire. Everyone knew that he had grandchildren he wanted to spoil. His wife had passed away a number of years ago from cancer but he had hidden his grief like the good soldier he was. It was too bizarre to even fathom.

I phoned Jason holding the disk in my hand.

Jason's phone went to voice mail and I left a curt message. "Call me."

My phone rang. I looked at the display and pressed the talk button. "Jason, I have a disk you might want to hear. Ten minutes? I'll be here."

I grimaced. Of course I would be here. Where else would I be?

Stephanie could feel the tension building up in my body as she sat on my lap. She reached up and started to massage my scalp gently moving her fingers from my forehead to the back of my head and back. She had released the hair tie and my hair was hanging down, much shorter than normal, but still long enough that the soft waves were framing my face. As much as I loved for Stephanie to run her fingers through my hair, I believed that it also served the purpose to ground her too.

There was a knock on the door. Manny stuck his head inside. Jason was in the office. Did we want to meet in the conference room?

I shook my head. "Have him come to my office. I want him to hear the disk."

Manny nodded and backed out the doorway, once again closing it softly.

I looked at Stephanie. "It's coming down to the crunch, Babe. I want you to promise me that if this goes sideways, you will stay out of the line of fire."

Stephanie stiffened. Before she could formulate a reply there was a knock on the door and Jason walked in. He was carrying his briefcase and his stiff legged stance served only to confirm that he also had bad news to relay.

She grudgingly moved off my lap and headed out the door.

"I was already in the building, Ranger. Hector had some information and I wanted to talk to him about it."

Jason sat quietly as I re-played the disk. He nodded then opened his briefcase, taking out a single sheet of paper.

Passing it to me, he spoke.

"I have checked and re-checked. I am extremely confident that General Bennett is the B we are looking at. I've got visual as he accepted the latest drop off. I'm checking with my sources but off-shore accounts are really difficult to access. I am worried that he can slip through our fingers from the base and we will never be able to charge him with any of this.

I also have the name Rodney Whitfield. He is the Special Co-Ordinator for Transitions in the Diplomatic Services.

I just obtained phone records, emails and calendar time lines with help from Hector."

Some day I wanted complete access into Hector's office. Until then, I chose to believe that what he was constantly working on was mostly above ground.

Jason took a breath.

"Frank knows someone who works at a cafe near Embassy Row. I understand there have been a number of meetings there during the past two months. Frank managed to convince him to make a copy of all the video feeds of their meetings from the security cameras. While the audio is nothing to write home about, the video clearly shows who was there. I know someone who lip reads and they are going over the tapes now. She is confident that she will have them ready for me soon.

There appears to be some movement on Embassy Row. I suspect that some of them are planning on bugging out. Children have been pulled out of school and some house staff have been terminated.

I've just about completed the paperwork to officially deport the undesirables from the diplomatic delegations in question and I do have a meeting with the Under Secretary booked for tomorrow."

Jason stopped again. He looked at me and one eyebrow raised. Stephanie would hate that he could do it too.

"You have quite the book on you. So far, you have been shopped around and the bidding on you is inching over 20 mil per for your services.

I now know who BHD is working for and will have a get away plan in place shortly. As a matter of courtesy I have his resume and some references from his former CO's. Good man, but then again, you knew that, I suppose."

I tipped back in my chair. I was rarely surprised by anything these days, but the fact that General Bennett was behind this whole episode was almost unbelievable.

I had placed my trust with this man. He wore the beret and had served his country well.

What had possessed him to take this action against members of the 75th in general and me in particular?


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Hector shivered. He was meeting with Stephanie's grandma at the funeral home.

She had contacted him at Rangeman. Manuel from Boston had put her through to him with what sounded like a smirk. It appeared that even out of town personnel had heard about Edna Mazur.

He contemplated taking back-up, but grimaced to himself. Who in their right mind would assist with this mission? SOP's stated that nobody was supposed to go out without back-up until the situation had relaxed but Hector didn't always play by the rules, even Ranger's rules. He didn't like partners. He fancied himself a lone wolf.

He prepared with care. Cup, check. Lined boxers, check. Two pair of cargoes, check.

Hector sharpened his knives. He was heading to Mass before the meeting. He needed some divine guidance for what he was about to embark on.

Did Tank have his new will?

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie was working at her desk. A delegation came into her view bearing a small bouquet of flowers. She looked at them in surprise.

Flowers were nice, but there must be a reason. Rangemen did nothing just because.

She pushed back her chair and stood up.

The men cleared their throats and looked at each other.

Nobody wanted to say anything, so they just handed her the flowers and an envelope and walked away.

She placed the flowers on the desk and opened up the 8 x 10 envelope. There was a blown up picture inside.

Stephanie sighed.

Her car had been parked in the garage after she had been brought to Rangeman. It was sitting at the back of the garage, against a wall.

The picture displayed a cardboard grave marker sitting on the roof. Upon closer inspection, her car had bullet holes everywhere. The windshield was shot out, the hood, and the sides were covered in bullet holes, and the tires were flattened. It looked like someone had been tossed on the hood of the car by the giant dent.

There was liquid leaking under the car and flowing toward the middle of the garage.

The front bumper was propped up against the grill and the driver's door was missing.

Stephanie sighed again. She mentally thanked it for it's service and added it to the list with the others.

~~~o0o~~~

The control room was a hive of activity. Schedules were drawn up and posted. Additional personnel had arrived at Trenton from the other branches. Leaves were still cancelled and everyone was working overtime.

No detail was missed. Extra cameras had been added and Hector had installed another monitor in the control room. A man was tasked to watch the building cameras only. Rangeman was NOT going to be infiltrated again. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

Ranger received a call from Jason. He had been ordered to clear his schedule for the trial to re-commence in two days. No excuses, no postponements, no amendments.

Jason suspected that someone was getting nervous and wanted Ranger out of the picture as soon as possible.

~~~o0o~~~

Jason received another phone call.

"This is BHD. The family is packing to leave. I have been given my immediate notice and a large severance package. I observed airline tickets and housekeeping has been advised to make the house ready for long term vacancy."

Jason sat stunned. Obviously something had changed and the principle actors were bugging out. Did he have time to get to the bottom of what was going on?

He spoke. "Do you have somewhere to go or a job to go to? I do have some connections and might be able to get something for you if you want. I do want you to lay low somewhere safe for a few days."

BHD hummed and hawed. "I can go somewhere safe that nobody knows me and what I do."

Jason spoke softly. "I know who you are and so does Ranger. He has asked me to pass on that if you want a job, just contact Tank. He remembered you and was impressed with your skills in the field."

There was a click on the line.

Jason was chewing on the end of a pen. He promised himself to re-read his personal copy of 'Breaking Bad Habits' when this was all over.

They were running out of time and they had not found that nugget of information tying it all together.

He paced in his office. He'd work on his deportment later. He muttered and wished he still smoked.

Alice had not left her desk outside his door and was refusing to even buzz him with anyone requesting his attention for anything.

Jason sat at his desk again. He was missing something, and he could feel it. His desk was too small so he took the papers and started to spread them on the floor of his office. He put them in chronological order, moved a few around to this time or that then crouched down. He stood up and walked from the first sheet to the last, reading every one carefully, then backwards.

He stopped and checked his notes. The phone tap on Ranger's handlers' phone had been installed just before Ranger had been given the contract.

Jason phoned General Deville. "How soon did you know about the mission before contacting Manoso?"

Jason could hear the General hitting keys on his computer. "I received the orders with a specific request for Manoso to lead two weeks before deployment. The directive stated that since he had worked in the area before, he was the only operative with the ways and means to affect a quick in and out. It was suggested that there was a sensitive time frame to resolve the issue."

Jason hummed to himself. "Do you have the name of the official requesting the extraction?"

Harry Deville clicked the bottom of the note. "It was signed by Major John McKenzie, Liaison to the Diplomatic Corps."

Jason was getting a bad feeling. It was looking more and more like Ranger had been specifically set up. In the back of his mind he was starting to wonder if there ever was a son of a dictator wanting and needing to be whisked away for their safety.

General Deville was old but had been a force to be reckoned with at the height of his career. Nobody was willing to admit out loud that he had coasted the last few years waiting for his numbers to hit the magic mark to retire on full pension, but it appeared that he was being taken advantage of.

There was silence on both ends of the line. Each was lost in their own thoughts on how to wrestle this problem to a successful conclusion before the trial started. They were working on 22 hours to come up with something concrete to bring to the Tribunal.

Jason hung up the phone and started to pace again. He walked past every page of paper, reading every sentence. He knew it was there, but what was it?

His pace was finally slowing. Jason had read and re-read all the written information so many times he could practically repeat each page word for word. That was the problem. He was not looking at it with fresh eyes.

He gathered up the papers and put them in his briefcase as he placed a phone call.

"Ranger, what I am about to ask is very dangerous for us all but do you think Stephanie would be willing to look over some papers for me? I don't have the time or the resources to get an approval through channels for a civilian with no clearance to see classified material."

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger's POV

I had to think about it for a minute. On one hand, Stephanie had a very sharp eye and an attention to discrete details that I valued, but on the other hand, she would be delving into the hell that we all had dealt with on missions. I knew that she would not discuss anything she saw and would then join the exclusive club with my men keeping secrets. I knew she could do it and if she had problems with it later, I felt confident that I could provide her with the help she might require.

I spoke with a catch in my voice. "I realize we are grasping at straws here and I would have liked to have kept her from our particular hell, but I know that if she agrees she will find something if it is there. Tell me what kind of facilities you require and I will have Tank make it ready for you upon your arrival."

I could hear Jason shuffling in his office. "I need a conference room with a large table to spread it all out. Obviously I need the feeds pulled. The less anyone knows here, the better. I'm ordering a car and will be there in about an hour."

~~~o0o~~~

Jason hung up and pressed the button for his intercom.

"Alice, please order a limo for me. I want full security on it and the car is to meet me in the garage instead of the main street. I would prefer that the less people know where I am going, the better. If you receive any communication from the fax line, please send it immediately to my phone."

Jason rolled his eyes and grabbed his coat and briefcase. This was going to be a very long day in his opinion. Maybe Ranger had a spare apartment he could bunk in so that they could keep on trying to solve this puzzle. A man's life was potentially at stake here and he would do whatever he could to see that justice prevailed.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger's POV

I was sitting in Tank's office. We were discussing the activities to date. Patrols were out, and inside Rangeman it was like an armed camp. The front door was locked and admittance only after confirmation with a member of the Core Team.

Tank brought me up to date on the enhanced security arrangements on Stephanie's family. I had also checked with my family and there was increased security at their residences as well.

Tempers were starting to fray in the building. Men in such close contact were quick to anger and the mats in the gym were in heavy demand. Fortunately, tempers also diffused quickly.

I stepped out of Tank's office and headed to Stephanie's cubicle. She was working on searches to keep herself from going crazy in the building. She had even resorted to taking a turn down in the firing range and with Ram coaching her had grown more deadly with each lesson. She would never be comfortable carrying her weapon but at least if she was in danger or required to fire it, she would have the knowledge to do it safely.

She had her ear buds in and did not hear me coming up behind her. Part of me wanted to envelope her in a bear hug, but even more of me wanted to scoop her up and take her up to seven. I never dreamed that she would someday be mine and I loved it when we would head upstairs together, hand in hand.

If my men noticed how late I appeared in the morning nothing was said. Stephanie usually came down with that special smile on her face and I had not beaten the big bag into submission in a few days.

I tapped her gently on the shoulder to alert her to my presence. Stephanie jumped in spite of herself and ripped out her ear buds to give whoever scared her a piece of her mind.

I smiled my 200 watt smile as she turned with the idea of laying one on the intruder. Her temper diffused and she gave a little grimace.

"I know, I know, I need to be aware of my surroundings. Jeez Ranger, wave your hand in front of my face or something, will ya!"

I chuckled to himself. I could see that she was calming down. She had switched on her rhino mood and had been prepared to launch her diatribe complete with waving arms and a few hand gestures. My men smiled every time she gave them a show.

Their lack of emotions had been properly beat in by the best of the best and to see this firecracker let loose on such a small incident proved how emotionally charged the building was getting. It almost seemed like Stephanie was expelling the tension in the building with one simple gesture.

I waited patiently. I guided her to her feet and nodded my head at my office. Stephanie fell into step and we walked to the room, then closed the door behind us.

I sat down on the couch and pulled her onto my lap nuzzling her neck and breathing in her scent. I laid my forehead against hers and gave her another hug. Stephanie was all about hugs and embraces, but she must have sensed that I was trying to ground myself and holding her, I was channeling my thoughts.

I pulled back.

"Babe, I need your help."

Stephanie sat up. "OK, Ranger. Who, where and how should I dress?"

I couldn't help myself and hugged her. She had never questioned when I asked her for help and while I appreciated it, I was hoping that some day she would at least listen before jumping in. I chuckled to myself. Stephanie had never not agreed and probably never would. I loved her even more for her confidence in me.

I spoke. "Babe, someday you really need to listen first before agreeing."

Stephanie shook her head. "Doesn't matter, Ranger. I'll help whenever you need it."

I looked at her. "Jason is coming up any minute. He would like you to take a look at the paperwork that he is working on to do with the case. He needs fresh eyes and your spidey sense is a force to be reckoned with. We are hoping you can take a look and see if something jumps out at you."

I held her closer and sighed. "Babe, this is classified and if it were not so serious, you would never, ever see what you are about to read. You have not been cleared to read this, so I caution you that what you see in that room must never leave the building. You are about to find out what I and my men do when we go 'in the wind'."

Stephanie hitched her breath but nodded. She would try her best.

There was a knock on the door and Jason stepped in. He nodded at both myself and Stephanie and stood by the door.

"I have asked for Conference Room C. It is the largest room and we can spread everything out. I'm hoping that you can find something, Stephanie. I have a feeling that the answer is in the information somewhere but I need some new eyes to see it. I hope you don't mind."

I looked at Jason. I knew that it only took a maximum of 15 minutes to get to the building and I checked my watch. There must have been some ESP going on because Jason volunteered. "I ordered a limo and had him drive around town for awhile. I didn't want anyone to figure out that I received some new information in my office. I have checked everyone out extensively in my firm, but right now I trust very few people. I had the driver take me here and there, checking for a tail. He understood without my spelling it out and managed to identify one. I had an acquaintance meet us and follow him. He was not the smartest in the world as he used his personal soccer mom mobile and headed home after. He is related to a diplomat at one of the embassies."

Stephanie grudgingly climbed off my lap. She looked at Jason. "Will Ranger be there too or just you and I looking at this?" She cocked her head at Jason waiting for a reply. She was unsure if she was ready to let my hand go just yet.

Jason looked at their clasped hands. He could appreciate how tense it has been in Rangeman since this situation blew up in their faces, but the most poignant reason they were all working so very hard to free Ranger was in front of him. If he failed to get his friend and client off, these two would never get their Someday together and he seriously doubted that either would live to ripe old ages happy with life. One would probably die of a broken heart and one would have his snuffed out without enjoying the fruits of his labors all those years.

Jason shook his head. Get serious, soldier, he said to himself.

"I think we will just go through it, you and I. At the present time I don't want Ranger's observations. I need someone who is not intimidate with the military structure to see this. Ranger can come in when you have a question I cannot answer."

Stephanie nodded. It sounded plausible to her. She was not familiar with how the military liked to do things, but at the same time she appreciated where Jason was coming from. If she knew what was the usual procedures, she might gloss over something they were missing.

Letting my hand go grudgingly, she proceeded out the door and down to the conference room with Jason behind her.

~~~o0o~~~

Jason opened his briefcase and started to pull folders out. As he began to sort them, he explained.

"I want you to read through everything, Steph. Ask me any question you want and I will attempt to answer it. A lot of this is technical and military related but you have been around Rangeman long enough you understand the command structure and the lines of communication. Just take your time and let yourself think. I will be here with you."

He proceeded to set the paperwork out, once again putting it in order. Stephanie was already at work. She picked up the first sheet and read it. It was a copy of the mission contract. She gasped as she read the amount of money allocated for the mission then steadied herself. Slowly she put that sheet of paper down and picked up the next one. The names of the men assigned were listed in alphabetical order. She read each name reverently, knowing that a good number of them had perished on the job. A small tear made its way down her cheek as she thought of the families whose son, father, brother or uncle would not be coming home to a loved one.

Stephanie moved on. Page after page was picked up and read, then gently placed on the table as she moved on.

Jason surreptitiously checked his watch. They had 18 hours to find something to go on.

Stephanie stopped. She put the paper down and headed back down the line, looking for something. She re-read something, then walked with it back to where she had stopped. She picked up that sheet of paper and re-read it.

Jason moved to her side. "What is it? Do you have a question?"

Stephanie looked at one sheet then another. "It says here that this helicopter was supposed to be used, but when they left, they used another one. Do we have a reason why?"

Jason checked the sheets himself, then buzzed Ranger.

I stepped into the room and looked around in amazement. Paper was everywhere. I looked at Stephanie with a piece of paper in each hand and a questioning look, strode down to them, noting that there was an opening the size of one sheet of paper had been near the beginning and the other about a third of the way down the table. I could not hide my smugness that she had noticed something so soon. Making it to them, I spoke. "What's up, Babe?"

She had a perplexed look on her face. "Ranger, why did they change the helicopter you were taking. It says here that a 332 Puma was to take you in, but when the chopper crew made their report, they state they fly a 332L."

I thought back.

"Babe, the plan was to fly out in a Puma 332 flown by a Sudanese crew. I am proficient speaking Arabic and they were assigned to fly us in and out. The 332 carries 15 and gear so it was supposed to be fine. What gear we brought in would not be coming back but we would have had another passenger. When we got to the field, that helo had a mechanical problem and was unable to fly so we switched to a Swedish 332L that had their crew on standby."

Jason and I looked at each other. Hmm, something to think about.

Jason nodded at me and I walked back out the door.

On and on. She reached for a paper and read it carefully. Jason knew when she reached the description of the failed mission and the rescue. She took a shuddering breath. He was quick to hand her a handkerchief. Ranger had never broken his word and related how horribly it had gone to her. Now she understood the nightmares he had been having and his cries of pain and grief in the middle of the night. She had held him and comforted him and calmed his horrible nightmares. Now she knew why.

Stephanie continued on, reading carefully. She had to steady herself as she came to the sheet with the the casualty list. Only three of the eleven men came home with Ranger.


	13. Chapter 13

**Ah yes, Friday the 13th. **

Chapter 13

Jason quietly left the room. He returned with a tray with sandwiches and bottles of water. Stephanie was still plowing her way through the papers, her brow furrowed.

She stopped and looked at Jason. He could see the pain in her eyes and putting the tray down, strode quickly over to her and enveloped her in a hug. He took out his phone and pressed a button.

Ranger raced into the room and took Stephanie into his own arms. She was sobbing and shaking. Jason put a chair by him and quietly left the room.

He headed to Tank's office and closed the door. Tank put his pen down and leaned back.

Tank spoke gravely. "She will be OK, but it will affect her for awhile. She is with Ranger and he will comfort her. This is why he didn't want her to know."

Jason nodded sadly. He had hoped not to have to drag anybody else into this mess, but the casualties were adding up.

His secretary, Alice had asked for time off. She would stay until this case was completed, but was requesting an escort to and from her residence. She had awoken to her security alarm blasting through the house two nights ago and although the police and Rangeman had been very quick to respond, she had taken her birds and driven to her sister's house. She was nervous about living in her home and Jason had arranged for additional protection.

He looked at his watch.

16 hours to go.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger's POV

Frank phoned Rangeman. He had asked to speak to me and was put through.

I opened my phone and spoke softly. "Manoso." I was holding Stephanie in my arms and she had fallen asleep with her hand gripping my t shirt.

Frank spoke. "Ranger, I need to speak with you and Jason. His secretary will not tell me if he is in his office and I have some more information."

Ranger spoke softly. "He is at Rangeman right now. If you want, I can arrange for a vehicle to pick you up and bring you here. I don't want anybody to see you coming. Can you get somewhere neutral?"

Frank smiled. He had already anticipated the possibility of such a request.

"I am at the Lodge hanging out playing cards. We are in an interior room so nobody can see us through windows. If your vehicle can drive around back, I can get out the kitchen door. Say in fifteen minutes? I have a hand I would really like to finish."

There was a bark of laughter and the sounds of cards hitting the table. "On the other hand, it appears I am free right now!"

I smiled. I had played poker with Frank a couple of times. He was a cagey old character and I reminded myself never to underestimate Stephanie's father.

"I'll have an SUV there in five, Frank."

I stood up and holding Stephanie cradled in my arms, walked out the door to my office. Hal observed me coming and raced to open my office door backing off again as we made our way inside. I carefully laid Stephanie on the couch and covered her with a soft blanket that had been folded neatly on the back of the couch. I walked out, closing the door, then headed to Tank's office.

Tank and Jason were leaning back in their chairs as I walked in. Almost comically, they raised one eyebrow at me and I grimaced.

"She's sleeping in my office. She's in Denial Land right now, and part of me wishes she stays that way until the trial. I hate what she is looking at, but if she can find something to head us in the right direction, I will be sure to thank her again."

Jason spoke. "I think she already found something. The fact that you were supposed to fly out on the first bird but got re-assigned to the second one might be the only reason we are talking here. What do you think the possibility is that the first crew would have disappeared and not reported you having trouble? Do you think that they were part of a plot?"

I felt perplexed. It was getting more and more bizarre by the minute.

Tank's intercom rang. Frank had just left the vehicle in the garage. Where should he head to? Tank looked at us. Jason nodded and pointed to the office. Tank knew all about the mission anyway and might be able to help.

Tank barked, "my office", and hung up.

There were two brisk knocks on the door and Frank walked in.

He was carrying an oversized envelope in his hand and he looked a bit ill.

"I just received this in the mail. Special overnight delivery. My buddy who works part time as a caretaker at Ft. Benning sent it. He has ordered that his son Carl and their family leave and they are in a safe hiding spot for the time being."

Frank looked at me. "My family and friends are in danger, Ranger. I need this solved quickly. Children are now at risk."

I nodded. I would make arrangements that Carl and his family be protected. I had really liked the vibrant young man and had been sorry that he had been injured. I had lost track of Carl Lawrence, but figured that I would be seeing him again sooner rather than later.

I grimaced to myself. Well, I would if I could clear up this mess.

Frank handed the envelope to Jason. He didn't take the letter opener that Tank had offered but ripped the envelope open. Inside were more papers. There was also a handwritten note.

Jason put the papers on Tank's desk and we all looked at them.

It was an itinerary of the planned events from leaving Rangeman to arriving at the courthouse on. Jason picked up his phone. This was going way beyond his ability to defend. He phoned the General.

General Deville listened as the Jason relayed the new information over the phone. We heard both sides of the conversation as Jason had the conversation on speaker.

The General sighed. "I classed him as a friend and this is how he pays me back. I will get back to you. Unfortunately this will have to go higher and I will take it on. Keep digging for whatever else you can find. I will need paper back-up soon, but I need to phone someone. I will be in touch."

He hung up and there was a collective sigh in the room. Time was not on our side.

12 hours to go.

~~~o0o~~~

Hector drove into the garage and hopped out of the SUV. Taking the stairs he headed for his apartment to change.

Edna had been mostly on her best behavior, but the extra care he had taken had confused her. Nothing to pinch or grab. How sad.

She was holding a number of pictures in an envelope in her hands. She explained that her ladies had been wandering around taking photos of suspicious men in the neighborhood. She hoped they might help the investigation. None of these men were known but her friends had also taken pictures of vehicles they had either left or entered. The license plates were prominently displayed.

Hector quickly ran the plates in his office. Some were diplomats, some were junior officers, some were arms dealers. There was a myriad of detail in that envelope.

Whoever was behind this was pulling out all the stops. There must be serious money to be had.

Hector phoned Tank from his office. Was Ranger handy? He had some more information.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie was on her feet. She folded up the blanket and walked out the door, heading back to the conference room. If Ranger came hunting for her, one of the men could direct him. She needed to keep looking.

She headed for the chair in the middle of the room fairly certain that that was where Ranger had held and comforted her. One again, she took a deep breath and started to read. Page after page she looked over carefully. Now and then she headed back to check something out and then back she would go, looking and reading. She had a note pad and pencil with her for questions she needed answered. As one question was answered, more were added.

Finally she came to the end. She took a shuddering breath and swore to herself under her breath. Why Ranger had been treated this way she had no idea. She could see that he had carefully planned everything. The money was high in her opinion, but the fact that the country requesting the rescue had put in half made her want to believe that they were honorable. Unfortunately, at the same time, the way it had been delivered concerned her.

There was no dedicated fund for the money to come from, but just an envelope arriving mysteriously. Obviously it had not come through channels. There had been no request for a time line other than when the chopper would land and where. She could not find out where they were to return with their passengers to so to the casual observer, it almost seemed like a one way trip. Stephanie wanted to ask Ranger if that was the norm. Did they always book a one way trip in only until a phone call or agreed upon time and place for pick-up.

She went back to the report from the first helicopter crew. It seemed strange that the usual crew was three, but two more had been added. Was there a reason for that? Had they anticipated that there would be trouble?

She read the notes from the Swedish crew. They had taken evasive action when attacked and tried vainly to scoop up the men and get them out of harms' way. They were feeling sick that they had had to abandon them but had radioed their location immediately so that a rescue could be effected as soon as possible. They had requested that they be in on the rescue and had been one of the birds to fly into the area by the compound. Each man had expressed horror that only four men had survived the mission.

A small note at the bottom of the page by the Super Puma pilot bothered her. He had noted that when he returned, the original crew from Sudan to fly the mission was suspiciously missing and seemed to have disappeared. He had quietly checked and they had been rotated back to their country with no notice.

Stephanie was still in the room by herself so she walked back to the first page, steeled herself and started to read again. Some things she braced herself to read because she had no time to take another break but she read it all again.

The third time she saw a small notation that jumped out.

Stephanie pulled out her phone and called Ranger. She needed him to explain something.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger's POV

I walked into the room. She was standing there with her hands on her hips. A portion of her hair had come out of her ponytail as she had obviously been tugging on it as she thought. At that moment, she looked like the most beautiful person in the world. While I could appreciate her all dressed up for a night on the town, I adored her when she had come to one of those eureka moments where she had found her needle.

"Ranger, who interrogated you at the compound when you were captured?"

I thought back painfully. I could feel the blows and the screams of my men in pain. I remembered each man as they were dragged out the door never to return. I looked at her.

"Nobody, Babe. Nobody questioned us, but anyone who came in knew who we were and spoke their name as they were dragged out."

Stephanie nodded. I looked at her. I could see the wheels turning in her mind. It appeared that she had found a major clue. The men on the mission, other than myself, looked like they had been targeted for death from the moment they climbed aboard the chopper.

It was a one way trip for everyone but me.

**A/N – I will publish again on Monday. Have a good weekend everyone. Myrna**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you for all the reviews. I feel very humbled by your words of encouragement. We make no money from doing this and reviews are our payment.**

Chapter 14

Frank phoned Randy. "Leave."

Randy was at home and his duffle was at the door. He was only employed part-time at work and would phone later to plead illness. He had his pension and he had his family.

He had already planned his escape and hoped he would be in time. He peeked out the front window and noticed a strange car sitting across the street. Another car was just pulling up.

Randy picked up his duffle and walked to the back door. He quietly opened it and slunk out, keeping to the side of the building, well hidden by the tall bushes. He headed for the side fence and slid the two loose boards aside, wiggling through the opening. He walked to the neighbors garage and opening the man door, slipped in then closed and locked it quietly.

There was a wig, glasses and a brown jacket laying on a stool by the workbench which he quickly put on. He threw his duffle in the back seat of a Ford Focus, slid behind the wheel and put on the seatbelt, then pressing the garage door opener attached to the sun visor in the car, he carefully backed out.

He drove down the back lane and out onto the street never looking back. Randy was house sitting his neighbors' place while they were away and would leave the car at the airport for them. His neighbors were scheduled to be home the next day and would drive it home. He left a note asking them to keep an eye on his house for a few days.

He had a plane ticket waiting at the Columbus airport and Frank had offered him a place to stay.

Randy felt a bit of euphoria as he drove to the airport. It had been moral boosting to feel needed and the possibility of helping a buddy once again had made the possible danger all the more exciting.

He rubbed his aching knee as he drove to the airport. It was giving him trouble again, and he sobered his thoughts.

He was too old to be doing this shit. While the excitement and the intrigue had in some small part helped his friend Frank, it was time to turn it over to the young-uns.

~~~o0o~~~

Tank was on the phone. He hung up and contemplated his next move. He did not have time to head for the gym and punish the big bag again. Luis had replaced yet another one.

That was the third phone call.

He had been hung up on at least twice each by all three men when he called.

They were angry, and scared. They were trying to put their lives back together again and did not appreciate him opening up a very difficult wound, but Tank was patient.

He reminded the men that Ranger had a reputation for bringing his men back against all odds. He reminded them that he never expected someone to do something he was not prepared to do first.

He asked them to remember that nobody had been interrogated, just taken away never to be seen again.

He asked them to remember that their captors knew who they were without asking.

He had managed to convince the men that they had all been set up.

He offered Rangeman services to help them cope with the challenges they were and would be facing as they dealt with the nightmare of the mission.

He offered a job to anyone who needed employment.

To a man, they had all retired. They had been offered money, but more importantly, they were offered things that would not draw attention. A family vacation out of country, a new house in a different area of the country, a new car every five years, health and dental for their family for life, a nice annuity.

All they had to do was sign some papers.

If they didn't they were threatened that they would be charged with treason. All they had to do was listen to the charges against Lt. Colonel Manoso.

They had been visited by a number of men with papers. Their families were scared. They were scared.

To a man, they had all signed.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie had gone over the pagers again. She was feeling the pressure to find something else, anything else that could help her man combat the awful charges hanging over his head.

Her spidey sense was still tingling. She was missing something.

Her eyes were tired and she had a stress headache. She had a bottle of water in one hand and was eating a sandwich with the other hand when her concentration slipped and she tripped stubbing her foot against one of the conference table legs.

Stephanie dropped her sandwich as she caught herself from hitting the table and spilling all the papers. If they had fallen on the ground it would take some time to re-position them and they didn't have the time. Her eyes spotted a sheet of paper that had been hiding behind another. She put down the water and pulled the sheet out.

10 hours to go.

~~~o0o~~~

General Harry Deville called Jason back. "I have a meeting in five hours. My contact is in the air but he will see me as soon as he lands. I need all the information to take with me into the meeting. Can you get it to me in Washington? I know you have your own ways that will not attract too much attention."

Jason looked at Ranger. He mouthed 'Anthony?'

Ranger nodded and pulled out his phone speaking quickly then looked back at Jason for more information.

Jason spoke. "I will personally deliver the material to you, sir. Where and when?"

Ranger held up four fingers. Taking into consideration travelling time, it would take Anthony about four hours to come, collect Jason and then fly him with the paperwork to General Deville in Washington.

They agreed on a place and time. It was cutting it close. Extremely close.

9 hours to go.

~~~o0o~~~

Jason headed out the door. Tank was ahead of him arranging for a copying machine to be rolled into the conference room.

Jason walked into the room. He needed to get ready for the meeting with the General. He mentally thought of all the sheets of paper he would need. He wouldn't have time to come back for more. It was a one-shot trip. All or nothing.

He spied Stephanie still in the room. He thought she had gone to seven.

Stephanie was holding the newly found piece of paper in her hand.

Jason looked ready to start pulling sheets from down the line when she stopped him.

"Did Ranger always have the same handler?"

Jason looked at her with a questioning look. He took out his phone and called Ranger.

Jason repeated what Ranger said. "No, he was assigned about a year ago. His other handler retired and they assigned him from a pool of handlers who had an opening in their stable."

Stephanie nodded. Jason put down the paperwork and let her look again.

She picked up another sheet of paper and showed it to him.

Jason blanched and called Ranger into the room.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger's POV

I was surprised that the paperwork was still all laid down on the table. I had assumed that Jason would be copying everything to take to the General.

I looked at my watch. Anthony was on his way and could not stay on the roof for long when he arrived or he would draw attention.

Jason and Stephanie were looking at three different sheets of paper.

I walked down to them. Their brows were furrowed in concentration.

They looked at each other.

"Ranger, did you ever meet your handler in person, or just by phone?"

I shook my head in the negative. Murray and I had never met. It was safer that way. We had a complicated set of codes to access each other when needed.

Jason looked at Stephanie and suddenly reached out and grabbed Stephanie twirling her around and giving her a kiss on her cheek.

She blushed. I had my hands fisted ready to take on my forward-acting attorney. She was mine, all mine and that was crossing the line.

Jason looked at me.

"Stephanie found another needle."

My fists relaxed and relief washed over me.

Jason was on his phone. We could hear only one side of the conversation but it had to be directed to Alice.

His phone beeped just a few minutes later.

Jason opened it up and he grinned like a little boy holding a large bag of candy.

"Murray, your handler is the great nephew of General Matthew Bennett. We didn't pick it up because his deceased wife had been married before. Murray was in the 102nd. He was injured on a jump and couldn't pass the medical returning him to active duty, therefore was medically discharged.

He secured a job in Washington through his Great Uncle Matthew, working his way up until he reached his current position.

Alice found an alias by the name of Murray Mandryk, General Bennett's wife's first husband's name. Same address as our Murray Henderson."

Jason looked at his watch. He started to quickly gather pages to be copied. He was running out of time. Anthony would be here in the next few minutes.

Stephanie was copying as Jason was selecting the pages needed. Finally they finished then carefully sorted the papers into three folders.

Stephanie gave Jason a hug for luck and headed out the door with me.

Jason may or may not have heard me say "Proud of you, Babe."

~~~o0o~~~

Jason shrugged into his coat and with a full briefcase in hand, walked to Tank's office to wait for Anthony.

Tank received a text and nodded at him. They strode out the door and Tank walked to the monitoring station.

"Disable the alarms and the camera on the roof. Nobody accesses that area."

Junior nodded.

Tank grabbed the long rifle leaning against the wall by the door and led the way, up the stairs to the door to the roof. He unlocked the door and pushed it open. They could both hear the approaching helicopter and waited until it was safe to venture forward.

Anthony landed softly and we were already moving toward it, bending over at the waist as we ran. We had been taught oh so many years ago how to approach a helicopter while the blades were turning. Tank opened the passenger door and Jason climbed in with the heavy briefcase and buckled his seatbelt. He nodded at Anthony. Tank fist bumped Jason for luck and then nodded at Anthony in thanks. He closed the door, then stepped back to the roof entrance. The chopper lifted off and sped away.

Tank grimaced. Why the hell had he fist bumped Jason? That was such a 90's thing. He didn't normally do that shit. He looked out at the skyline. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and there was the noise of a vibrant city to envelope him as he remembered.

Ah yes. Mogadishu again. The team had fist bumped each other as they prepared to head into the fray.

He smiled. Every member of their team had come out uninjured. Scared, tired, and wary. But alive.

He was hoping that this mission would turn out the same.

Tank closed and locked the roof door. He walked down the stairs and back to the control room. "Re-arm and cameras on."

Junior nodded and pressed some buttons.

It was out of their hands now. Jason would give General Deville all the information and he would try to stop what was spiraling out of their control.

Tank returned the rifle by his office door then headed to the gym. He half expected Ranger to be there, but upon second thought, he remembered that he had not seen Stephanie upon his return to the floor. Her cubicle was empty and he had not heard her voice.

He suspected he would not see his friend for awhile.

8 hours to go.

~~~o0o~~~

There was a note on Tanks' desk upon his return. A Security Team would be at Rangeman to pick up Ranger in three hours. His lawyer was ordered to meet him at the courthouse and he was not allowed a Rangeman escort.

They were being shut out effectively closing any possible escape route.

The noose around Ranger's neck was tightening.

6 hours to go.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger and Stephanie came downstairs. Nothing to do with Rangeman or the military was embroidered or stamped on their clothes. Ranger was carrying a garment bag slung over one shoulder.

They looked calm to outward appearances but the firm set of their mouths belied extreme tension.

They walked to the break room and grabbed some water. Ella came in with a cart of food but Stephanie never took a moment to glance at the selections.

Ella walked up to Ranger and enveloped him in a hug. She said not a word but quickly left the room leaving her cart unattended. Luis met her in the hallway and cradled her in his arms as she cried.

Rangeman members walked in and shook his hand. He wordlessly nodded. Stephanie had lost all attempt at composure and was quietly crying at the raw emotion in the room. These men were telling Ranger in their own way how they felt.

She received a call on her phone and left the room.

"Cupcake, I was just talking to Frank. I have a plan."

5 hours to go.

~~~o0o~~~

Carl and his family drove up to Frank's house. There was a Rangeman vehicle parked in front and as Carl stepped out, the driver's door opened.

Ram smiled as he saw the family alight. "Red, you old goldbricker. I always wondered if you faked that injury to get out early."

Carl grabbed Ram in a man hug. "You know me. I hate sand so thought a nice chopper ride and some attentive combat nurses would be the way to go."

He turned to his wife and put his arm around her. She was holding the baby and trying to keep tabs on their three year old. It had been a long drive and he needed to burn off some energy.

"This beautiful lady is my wife, Jenny and our son, Matthew and daughter Sarah. Uncle Frank invited us to stay with them for a few days and we decided to take him up on his offer."

Ram smiled. Wouldn't he be surprised when he found his dad inside? He suspected that it would be a rocking place later and Ranger would have to find places for everyone soon.

Ram's smile faded. He hoped that Ranger would have that problem to solve. It was not looking good at the moment.

4 hours to go.

~~~o0o~~~

Jason texted Ranger. He was heading into a meeting with General Deville. Jason cautioned Ranger to hang on in the building as long as he could.

~~~o0o~~~

Tank posted guards at the main reception area in Rangeman. He did not trust that the Security Team would arrive when they said. He suspected that they might arrive early to pick up Ranger.

2 hours to go.

~~~o0o~~~

Frank phoned Ranger. He couldn't get hold of Jason. His buddy at the cafe had reported an increase in traffic there. It appeared to anyone watching that they were happy about something. High fives were given as each man arrived. Money was changing hands. Cell phones were ringing constantly.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie was on her cellphone in the stairwell on five.

"You need to hurry. They are coming for Ranger in an hour."

She hung up and walked back out to the control room.

She quietly sat down at her cubicle and pretended to work on a search. Her foot was tapping up and down as if to a beat from the music on her ipod.

She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was going to be close.

The phone by the monitors rang. Zero picked it up, barking 'control'. He visibly cleared his throat and called for Tank.

Tank came out of his office and headed to Zero. There was a whispered conversation and Tank nodded then moved to Ranger's office.

The door closed. Scarcely a minute later, Ranger and Tank walked out and headed for the elevator.

Stephanie rose to her feet. Tank looked at her and shook his head. She sat down and put her head on her crossed arms and leaned on the desk. Les was by her side instantly and pulled her into his arms whispering to her quietly. She was sobbing and the front of his shirt was already wet.

~~~o0o~~~

Tank and Ranger walked out of the elevator on the main floor.

Standing inside the door was Joe Morelli, Carl and Big Dog. Eddie was standing outside watching the street.

Joe stepped up to Ranger.

"Ricardo Carlos Manoso, I'm placing you under arrest for suspicion of excessive force used to capture and return Walter Dunphy. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

Carl and Big Dog motioned for Ranger to turn around and put his hands behind his back. They quickly cuffed him and led him out the door to the waiting patrol car.

Joe looked at Tank, and handed him the warrant. "We can only hold him for 72 hours."

Joe walked out the door and climbed into the front seat. Eddie was already behind the wheel and Carl and Big Dog sat on either side of Ranger. They pulled away, lights flashing and siren blaring.

Barely two minutes had passed when a number of black vans pulled up to the front door. Men in combat jumped out with their rifles at the ready and took up positions by the front door.

A Staff Sergeant marched to the now opened door and approached Tank.

"I have a warrant to escort Lt. Colonel Ricardo Carlos Manoso."

Tank looked at Caesar manning the front desk, and at each of the Rangeman armed guards standing in the reception area. He looked at the security team standing by the door. He counted to ten very slowly in his head.

"Lt. Colonel Manoso has just been arrested by the Trenton Police Department for questioning."

He held out the arrest warrant.

Staff Sergeant Daniel Wilkinson reached into his pocket and slowly took out and put on his glasses. He appeared to read every word on the warrant. He turned his back on his men and smiled, then wiped the grin off his face before anybody could see.

He took off his glasses and placed them carefully back into the case in his shirt picket then wordlessly turned on his heel and marched out the now open front door, climbed into the front of one of the vans and they sped off in the direction of the police station.

Tank looked at his watch. He knew that at top speed, breaking all the laws, it took him five minutes to reach the police station. He hoped it was enough time.

**A/N – Last chapter tomorrow. Myrna**


	15. Chapter 15

**Yes Janet, I am returning those gorgeous hunks of men to you. No, I don't need a receipt.**

Chapter 15

Eddie pulled into the lot at the police station. They quickly climbed out of the car and rushed Ranger into the building.

Robin Russel was manning the desk. She threw some papers their way and shooed them through the door to holding.

Tank had phoned. The team picking up Ranger was right behind them and probably would be there any minute.

Robin phoned Joe Juniak. He came down from his office just as the door opened and a number of the security team came rushing in. There was a mad scramble from the police officers in the room and everyone had guns drawn at each other.

The agitated atmosphere was thick with tension.

Joe Juniak marched up to Staff Sergeant Wilkinson.

Chief Juniak stood with his hands on his hips. "What the hell are you doing coming into my precinct like this. There is an established protocol to be followed."

Staff Sergeant Wilkinson grimaced. Right now, he felt like he was between a rock and a hard place. He mentally looked down. His feet felt like he was standing in quicksand and he was sinking..

On one hand, he had orders to pick up Manoso. There was a full courtroom waiting for him to be delivered.

But, in front of him was a pissed off Chief of Police.

Daniel barked at his men, and ordered them to put down their weapons and wait outside in the vans.

The police officers watched warily as the team stepped outside. Slowly they re-holstered their weapons. The air was still heavy with tension.

Joe Juniak motioned Wilkinson to follow him and they headed for his office to speak in private.

Daniel Wilkinson chuckled to himself. He could tell a distraction when he saw it. While he was talking to the Chief, they would probably move Manoso to an even more secure area.

He played along with their game. He had worked with Ranger on one occasion when a security presence was needed. He was impressed with the young man.

Daniel had been around the block a time or two. He could smell a set-up as well as the next guy. He had been checking around. There were enough loose lips that he had pieced together a general idea what had happened and what was now happening. Manoso was being thrown under the bus.

He and the Chief moved away.

His cell phone rang with a text. Where was the detail? The court was waiting.

He asked permission to step away and Joe nodded.

Daniel Wilkinson phoned and explained the situation to his superior. He had just enough time to take the phone away from his ear as there were some loud expletives coming down the phone line.

Daniel hung up.

He showed the Chief his warrant to escort. Joe Juniak explained that HIS warrant to arrest easily trumped a measly warrant to escort.

Joe Juniak explained that he was legally allowed to hold Ricardo Manoso for 72 hours with an arrest warrant and he believed that it would take at least that long to fully investigate the charge. Joe explained that it was a serious charge levelled against a valued member of society.

Staff Sergeant Wilkinson was beginning to recognize that he would not be leaving with Manoso today and gracefully excused himself. Trenton was protecting their own and unfortunately for the time being they had used their own laws to their advantage. He mentally cheered.

He walked back to the elevated front desk. Robin was still at her post manning the desk. She looked down at him with disdain.

He shook her hand and apologized for disrupting her waiting room..

He walked out the door, climbed into one of the vans and they pulled out.

Robin picked up the phone. She called dispatch and requested that they pick up Mooner as soon as possible. Bring him cheese puffs, McDonalds, or whatever to get him out of his house or wherever he could be found, but find him and get him to the station. They needed him hidden so that they couldn't be accused of abusing the law.

Dispatch laughed. They were on it.

Robin figured that Mooner wouldn't complain, if he even remembered. Most days he was the most mellow fellow around. He could hang around the station for awhile in a cell somewhere, then be released. He's be fed, have time for a nap, and still have time to get home and toke up before twilight.

~~~o0o~~~~

Jason was tired. He had not been sleeping very well. He had Anthony's cell phone number and called him. Was he available to return him back to Trenton?.

He had to be there for Ranger.

He had received a number of ugly phone calls from the base, requesting both his and his client's presence immediately.

Jason was dangerously close to being charged with contempt. He did not relish spending any time behind bars but that was the price for backing your client against all odds. He'd take one for the team if need be. Jason wondered if he could somehow add that to the bill.

He had very carefully led General Deville through all the paperwork. Harry Deville was not a stupid man. He was keeping his anger in check, but it was a challenge.

Harry gathered up all the information, thanking Jason for his time and expertise in ferreting out the deceit.

Jason nodded his head but spoke. "Sir, I may have been the instrument to bring this to your attention to forward upstairs but I can honestly state that it has been a team effort."

The General nodded. He knew he had quite the team.

General Deville walked Jason to the elevator and shook hands as they parted. It was up to him now.

He had a meeting with the JAG in one hour.

He received a text stating that his appointment was confirmed and he headed back to his office. He stopped at his orderly's desk and ordered a staff car.

~~~o0o~~~

Tank paced in his office. He had heard from Robin about the situation at the police station.

He had heard from Jason that he was on his way back to Trenton and would need a ride to the base.

He received a text from Anthony with his ETA to the Rangeman roof.

Tank sighed. He really needed a holiday. Sunshine, sand under his feet, a hula girl or two, and a drink, oh my god no, a lot of drinks!

~~~o0o~~~

Rangers POV

I was trying to piece it all together.

Tank had stepped into my office and stated that they were downstairs.

I steeled myself. I had no idea when I would be back, if ever.

I stood up and walked over to Tank, holding out my hand. 

He looked at me and shook his head. A handshake just would not do it. He and I gave each other a man-hug. A thousand words were said with one gesture.

I walked to the door and out into the control room. I knew Babe was there somewhere and I had already said my good-bye to her.

She stood up to follow me and thankfully Tank stopped her. I don't think I could have kept it together if she came downstairs.

We stepped out of the elevator on the main floor and I was expecting the Security Detail to cuff and vest me again.

Imagine my surprise when Morelli, Carl, and Big Dog were standing at the desk.

Big Dog spun me around and cuffed me, racing me out the door into the patrol car. Eddie was already seated behind the wheel and he kept checking the rear view mirror.

We took off with lights and sirens toward the station.

Joe turned around in his seat. He was grinning triumphantly as he spoke.

"We've got 72 hours to hold you. The arrest warrant states that you were excessively aggressive in returning Mooner to the police station."

I looked at him. Was he trying to help me?

Joe cleared his throat. "I was talking to Frank and he explained a bit what was happening. I still don't like you, and I doubt I ever will but what they were attempting to do would make Cupcake unhappy. I want her to be happy; she deserves it, even if she is not with me. But be warned Manoso. I am watching you."

I nodded. I knew a threat when I heard it. I had no intention of ever making my Babe sorry she chose to be with me and knew that if I ever did, Joe would be far, far back down the line convincing me of my mistake.

We pulled up to the station and they raced me inside.

Robin Russell practically threw some papers in Morelli's face and pushed the button opening the door to lock-up. She quickly waved us through, watching the front door. I could only assume that we were being pursued by the security team.

I was put in a room with Carl standing outside. He gave me the thumbs up. He let me know that they had it covered and would help as much as they could.

I sat down on the hard bench and relaxed.

I laughed to myself. Imagine feeling safe in a cell in a police station. Go figure!

~~~o0o~~~

Tank drove Jason to the base.

He had a meeting and was not looking forward to it one little bit. He could see himself sitting in a military cell very soon.

He muttered that he might need to check with Ranger who had the better accommodations later.

Tank thought it was funny that we might be comparing the accommodations in police versus military cells.

Jason wondered if there was a medic on call?. He needed some ointment for his stump. All those stairs and helicopter rides, car rides, and walking had agitated the skin. He grimaced. He might be forced to use those damn crutches again. He wondered where he had hidden them this time.

Had the food improved since he had left the military? Jason had endured a few meals in the brig while he was still active.

His buddies had taught him many skills but a few had been delivered by the school of hard knocks.

Once again, Jason remembered that he had been trained by the best. Manoso's team had taught him how to stay alive, stay safe, protect ones buddies and live to fight another day.

It had taken longer to teach him how not to get caught by the Shore Patrol while on leave.

He smiled to himself. If General Deville could convince the JAG that there had been a serious miscarriage of justice, they could order that Ranger be released from his house arrest conditions. He could be reunited with Stephanie and they could at least hope for a future together.

He prepared his defense in his head as Tank drove.

~~~o0o~~~

General Matthew Bennett received a phone call. His great nephew Murray was being questioned. Something about murder.

He made a few phone calls. It appeared that he was being shut out of what was going on. It was almost like a gag order had been placed around anybody working with or near him.

General Bennett checked for flights leaving the country. He attempted to on-line book but his attempt kept coming back that there was a problem in completion and he should contact the airline.

He noticed that his staff had left the office suddenly and then returned just as suddenly. They were being overly quiet, but were still giving the appearance of doing their work. There was a strange undercurrent of tension in the office.

Matthew Bennett packed up his briefcase and walked out to his car. He politely nodded to everyone who he met in the hallway and the parking lot. He drove home.

He noticed a tail in his rear view mirror.

~~~o0o~~~

Frank received a call from Stephanie. She gave him some of the details about what had transpired.

He related that he had a house full with Randy, Carl and his young family.

He asked if she could come over for a visit before they left. Stephanie said she would get back to him.

She could hear her mother arranging the sleeping arrangements, meal time requests, and could just see in her mind a certain cupboard door opening and closing.

~~~o0o~~~~

Rangers POV

I was released from the holding cell. I had had food delivered from Ella's kitchen, and had had a couple of good nights sleep. TPD members had stopped in and had let me know that the streets had returned to normal.

Tank had visited a couple of times.

He related that Jason had returned from the base. He had deflected a contempt charge with the help of General Harry B. Deville. Jason was at home resting. It had been a tough case.

I was handed a short note written by Jason. He joked that I would not be liking his bill and he was excited to personally deliver it in the near future, but until then, rest and relax.

He had arranged that the electronic bracelet would be removed and to remain patient.

Tank reported that Stephanie was anxiously waiting for me on seven. They had continued to keep her in the building just in case someone wanted revenge.

She was not handling the confinement very well, he casually mentioned.

They had taken her stun gun away from her and Hal had taken personal time off, just in case.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger's POV

I had been home for two days. I received the call I was waiting for. I nodded at Tank. He put his phone to his ear.

~~~o0o~~~

General Matthew Bennett sat at his desk in his house. He was dressed in his Class A Blues with his cap sitting on the desk to his right.

He looked at the framed pictures of his beloved grandchildren in his hand.

He looked up.

I was standing in the doorway.

"I'm not surprised to see you Colonel," he said

I strode further into the room and looked at the frame that the General had laid on the desk beside the gun.

I spoke. "Why?"

The General sighed. "I guess the saying, Money is the root of all evil, would apply to this best of all."

I was standing with my arms crossed. I wanted to know but he was not elaborating. Instead he visibly sighed and shook his head.

"I assume Sherman is outside the room, Brown is near, Santos has probably put the cameras on loop by now, and Sinclair is in the tree by the garage."

I nodded.

The General grimaced. "I tried to break up your team so many times, but my friend Harry refused to lend any of you away. He had one superior team, but if I had had my way, I could have had four. I could have made so much more money farming you out to the highest bidders. But leave it to the Mighty Manoso to change the plan."

I continued to stare at General Bennett.

"The documentation has been delivered to the JAG office, General."

I received a beep on my phone.

"Sir, that was confirmation that your entire team has just been picked up for questioning. I do know that they will be charged with a number of offenses in relation to the deaths of eight men, working in collusion with some members of the Diplomatic Service, and crimes against the United States."

I looked at the man who until now had held a place of respect and honor in my heart.

"I estimate that you have less than an hour to make a decision. Your choice, General."

I turned on my heel and walked out the door, closing it softly behind me using the cloth Tank handed me.

General Matthew Bennett picked up his revolver.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger's POV

The sun was setting on another lazy Caribbean day. I was sitting in the sand leaning back against the stone wall looking at the sunset. I looked at my right ankle which was healing from the effects of the bracelet that had been removed. The scratch and rub marks would fade in time, but my mental scars would remain forever.

Stephanie stirred. She was laying with her head on my lap and she too was looking at the spectacular sunset. Her life had also been turned upside down.

I hoped that her trusting nature would be returning soon. She was still vivacious and giggly on the outside but there was now a certain reserve.

I sighed and shifted my weight. She looked up at me from her position on my lap and smiled.

All of a sudden, a growl came from her stomach. Grimacing with pretend horror, Stephanie struggled to sit up.

I started to laugh. I couldn't help it. That was truly a force to be reckoned with.

Stephanie looked at me. She purred. "Time to feed my beast, Ranger. After all, you promised that payback would be a bitch after I allowed Morelli to brag that he saved you from your own military."

I smiled and stood her up. Clasping our hands together we walked down the beach toward our future, the ring sparkling in the evening light..

**And so another story ends. Thank you for all the positive and thought-provoking reviews. **

**Thanks too to Megan. Her timely suggestions and word choices were very much appreciated.**

**Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or Happy Holidays to you and yours.**

**Myrna**


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